PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter
by AsanganiKalani
Summary: A young girl, rejected by the whole Sinnoh region, discovers her husband of one year disappearing every night, and not returning until the night after. What she discovers will instigate the journey that will perhaps change her image in the Pokemon world..
1. Tea With A Side of Tears

**Pokeshipping/Contestshipping/Ikarishipping: I Don't Want a Fighter**

**Chapter 1: Tea with a Side of Tears**

The teapot began to squeal impatiently, since Hikari was in somewhat of a trance. Her two best friends, Haruka and Kasumi watched curiously, seeing their friend's face not change one bit. It remained as still as stone, not to mention as lifeless. After about a minute of silence, that is, besides the shrill sound coming from the teapot, Haruka spoke up.

"Yoo hoo! Hikari!" She teasingly spoke, waving her hand in front of the blue-haired seventeen-year old face.

"Hikari?" Kasumi asked, being gentler with her words. She had always felt she was the one who looked after the two, considering that Haruka wanted nothing more then to joke around, and whereas Hikari was simply just a kid. A kid who did not make the smartest decisions when it came to her future, and her love life.

Well, according to the whole region of Sinnoh.

Kasumi just sighed and walked over to the teapot, switching the knob to the "OFF" position. The tea's squeals diminished slowly until the steam just gurgled out of the spout.

"I'm a little teapot, here's my spout...!" Haruka began singing until Kasumi threatened to take out her mallet. Haruka sort of groveled and stopped singing, putting her clenched fists into her lap.

"The usual?" Kasumi casually asked, pouring the hot water into three mugs.

"Yupsidoodles!" Haruka cheerfully replied.

Hikari simply nodded.

With that response, Kasumi plopped three Lady Grey tea bags into the grey splattered mugs, and dipped the teabags in the water until all three cups were filled with a dark brown liquid. She poured a bit of milk into two of the three cups, along with sugar and honey. The one without milk was given to Hikari, while the two others were to Haruka and Kasumi. Hikari did or spoke nothing when the mug was placed in front of her.

"So Hikari, since you practically invited us over…" Haruka began.

With that, Hikari slowly looked up at the redhead and brunette. Her royal blue eyes began to tremble, tears making them shine. Both of her small hands cupped the hot mug; she ignored the intense heat. Hikari's eyes were set on the wall as more and more tears collected in her eyes. The morning sunlight made them luster, making them even more beautiful. However Haruka and Kasumi were in no mood to compliment Hikari's inhuman beauty. They waited for her friend to finally to say something.

Judging from the amount of silence from her, there was something big she desperately wanted to say. With a sigh, Hikari adjusted her gaze on both of her friends. Haruka's brow furrowed whereas Kasumi's were curved up, giving her a concerned and sad countenance.

"I'm growing concerned." Hikari said, sighing before she spoke.

"About what?" Kasumi circumspectly asked.

"About Shinji, my husband."

"Yes, we know he's your husband." Haruka asked, except there was no humor in her tone.

No one spoke with humor when mentioning Shinji, (Hikari's husband).

"What about Shinji dear?" Kasumi asked, seeing one tear roll down her face.

Hikari struggled, a small choking sound coming from her throat.

"Take a deep breath." Kasumi consoled as Haruka patted her young friend on the shoulder.

Hikari did so, and looked up at the ceiling light.

"I don't know for how long, I've lost count, Shinji's been disappearing every night. He—He doesn't come back until later in the evening, only to leave the same night. I don't know what he's doing, considering that he refuses to speak, let alone come near me. I just…I just don't know what to think…"

Kasumi narrowed her eyes with anger as Haruka looked upon her friend with sadness. Hikari was just a goddamn _kid_! What she had gotten herself into was certainly something no seventeen-year old should have to deal with. Haruka looked back to the times when she was seventeen…She had experienced lust countless times with celebrities and boys she knew of, she always went shopping, and hung out with her friends…she never had to deal with…

_This._

"Well, what do you think he's doing?" Haruka asked.

Hikari's face scrunched up as more tears rolled down her face.

"I don't know okay? I never know what to think when it comes to Shinji…he could be off figuring a way to get away from me, plus, he is, you know…"

"No, I'm afraid I don't." Kasumi said.

"He's not exactly…bad-looking…" Hikari said in a small, embarrassed voice.

Haruka held back her gag as Kasumi made no visible response. Inside her head though, she was disappointed.

"Is that the only reason you married him?" Kasumi asked.

"NO!" Hikari suddenly bursted out, slamming her fists against the table, causing the mugs to shake. Kasumi and Haruka flinched back, Haruka taking a couple steps back.

Hikari sighed. "I'm sorry guys…but I get asked that all the time…"

"People actually TALK TO YOU NOW?" Haruka asked.

Kasumi was quick with a kick to Haruka's ankle, causing her to wince in pain. Haruka gathered herself together, pursing her lips to suppress the pain as Hikari looked down at her tea.

"Yes, surprisingly." Hikari quietly responded, slowly sipping her tea.

"Well, why don't you find out for yourself?" Haruka suggested.

Hikari dropped her tea, thankfully not being too distant from the small plate beneath it. Kasumi looked over at Haruka as if she were crazy. The sardonic brunette put her hands up, a small smirk on her face.

"What? It sounds like Hikari wants to know what's going on, right? Well, if she's so keen on finding out what's going on with Shinji, she should find out herself!" Haruka explained, biting into a chocolate-covered biscotti.

"She can't do this alone!" Kasumi claimed, then leaning into whisper, "She's just a kid!"

Hikari heard this remark, and she was only slightly insulted. Knowing Kasumi, Hikari knew that she always thought of her friends before herself…a little too much sometimes. Hikari slightly smiled at the thought while her friends consulted with each other a little while more.

"Hikari, we'll help you with this, you're not alone." Kasumi told her.

Hikari smiled.

"For once." Haruka added.

With that comment, Kasumi slammed Haruka in the head with her mallet, telling her to shut up. Hikari slowly rose to her feet, along with Kasumi. Haruka, on the other hand, decided to stay on the floor.

"What time does he get home?" Kasumi asked.

"Six. Although I never know for sure…definitely around that time." Hikari said while nodding, the trails of tears glinting off her comely face.

Kasumi walked over to the frail girl, and put her hands on her shoulders.

"Call us as soon as he gets home." She informed her, shaking her a tad.

Hikari nodded, a smile of confidence on her face.

The sun had slowly begin to set in Veilstone City as the grandfather clock in the living room rang six times. Hikari was watching the sunset from the window; she had always loved to see the sky venture away from that one color of blue to an array of beautiful colors. As she watched, the house phone was in her hand, ready to be used as soon as Shinji stepped into the house—

A click. The door.

Hikari's head snapped up, her grasp on the phone tightening. She turned away from the window to see her dark husband stand there, not having noticed her. His skin was lightly tanned, the trademark purple hair he had now grew long past his shoulders, giving him a more mature, yet threatening look. That shade of purple was nothing she had ever seen before, it being the only shade that actually looked…scary. The eyes she had fallen in love with a year ago had never changed; piercing, impacting…dark.

Dark. Dark. Dark. That was all that Shinji was. Dark.

"Hi Shinji!" She cheerfully said to him.

"Hn…" He replied in his low gruff voice, his eyes not meeting hers. With that memorable conversation over, he walked out of the room, towards the bathroom. After the day he went through, he really needed a shower.

She longingly looked after him as he walked away. It began to make her feel lost of all hope once again. It had happened about two or three times before that same day. With a sigh, she slowly began to dial Kasumi's number. When the sound of the confident redhead's voice was heard on the phone, Hikari began to feel hope flow through her again. Hikari informed her of Shinji's arrival, and Kasumi thanked her, and told her what she was doing was right. Hikari nodded to herself.

"Oh, and one more thing…" Kasumi said, remembering something.

"What?" Hikari asked.

"Make sure you dress decently. You never know where he might be going. It might be somewhere eloquent. Make sure you tell Haruka."

Hikari HIGHLY doubted that Shinji would ever go anywhere with class, but she took notice of it anyway and thanked Kasumi, ending the call. With trembling fingers as she heard the shower turn on, she dialed Haruka's number. Haruka answered as her usual happy self. Hikari wished she was like that again…

"Hi Hikari! Did he just come in?" Haruka asked quietly.

"Mmhm, just now."

"Wow, you're timing is PERFECT!" Haruka cooed.

Hikari smiled at her rather wacky friend. "Thanks Haruka, meet Hikari behind the house, I'll meet you there after he left…and Haruka…"

"Yes?"

"Make sure you dress, you know, nicely. You never know where we might be going." Hikari informed her, trying to sound firm.

Although a seventeen-year old sounding firm with a twenty-year old didn't exactly sound right.

"All right I will…I'll be over there in a few minutes."

"Okay, thanks Haruka." Hikari added.

"No problem kid."

Click. Hikari pressed the button with the red phone symbol on it, and looked out the window again. She remembered a time when the sunset had been most important to her…one night…

"_You know I wanna tell you something, but I can't…"_

"_Oh come on, you can tell me." She egged him on, poking his shoulder._

_With a small smile, he said:_

"_I love you."_

_She gasped._

Hikari took a deep breath, and strode into her room, assorting through the many dresses and skirts that she had. She was rather fastidious when it came to picking the perfect outfit…then again, what girl wasn't? She finally settled with a black denim mini and black long-sleeve shirt with a navy blue lacy camisole underneath. She had ditched the old childish bangs she had for longer slanted bangs that complimented her face perfectly. After brushing through her hair about a million times, she was happy with her look. She did not put any make-up on…she felt that make-up simply made a girl look more desperate, and more stupid. She slipped on a pair of dark blue flats accented with an elegant bow, and started walking out the door.

Hope began to shine in front of her.

Kasumi impatiently waited behind a tree, glancing at her watch, oh, every three seconds.

"Come on Hikari!" She mumbled to herself, looking at her watch _again._

She was dressed in skinny jeans with a ruffled ocean blue top on. Instead of her trademark side ponytail, her long orange hair flowed down her back. She wore a pair of dolled-up converse, along with gold bangles clinking on her wrists.

Her sisters were definitely involved in this, no doubt about it... (Like, totally!)

She heard running footsteps behind her, and turned around to see a grinning Haruka.

"Hi Kasumi! You like?" Haruka asked, striking way too many poses before the redhead.

Kasumi dropped her head into her hand, and groaned.

"Haruka, you look fine." She muttered.

The ecstatic brunette was dressed in gray skinnies with an "off-the-shoulder" red top. A lighter gray tank top was shown underneath it, along with a small tattoo of a rose on her shoulder. Kasumi decided not to ask, considering Haruka was not only cheerful, but incredibly irritable. She wore a pair of casual red converse, the red color matching the barrette in her hair. Kasumi was glad she had ditched that stupid bandanna for one night.

"Yay!" Haruka shouted out in joy.

"SSHH!" Kasumi warned, covering Haruka's mouth with her hand, hiding her behind a tree. They heard a door open, which made Kasumi begin to reprimand Haruka.

"Now look what you've done!" Kasumi whispered, pouting.

"Oh, are you gonna put me in time out?" Haruka suggested, her voice muffled by Kasumi's hand.

"Guys?" They heard a feeble voice ask.

Kasumi and Haruka turned around, thankful that it was Hikari who spoke those words instead of…well…her husband.

"He just left, we better get a move on." Hikari said, starting to walk forward, Kasumi and Haruka behind her.

That sense of hope began to flow through her, this time, more strongly.


	2. Discovering Dexterity Downtown

**PokeContestIkari-I Don't Want A Fighter**

**Chapter 2: Discovering Dexterity Downtown**

The three girls were now wishing that Shinji had taken his car. They had walked from the peaceful neighborhood where Hikari and Shinji's house was to an environment at least Hikari wasn't too experienced with. What, with all the flashing lights, Sidewalk Sallys, groups of questionable men passing items back in forth…they had reached the bad part of the placid town.

In other words…downtown.

"Oh MY FEET!" Haruka whined, bending over with her arms dangling.

"Great to know that you still HAVE THEM…" Kasumi said, her feet being so numb she couldn't feel them anymore.

Hikari did not complain, although her legs were ready to detach from her hips. Ahead, she saw Shinji walking forward with his usual "Shinji" swagger. Hands in pockets, head down, and most likely his eyes were closed. He had glanced at no one, not even those Sidewalk Sallys who had come up to him interested. All he did was walk past, like he hadn't a care in the world.

Or he simply just _didn't care._

"_Do you mean it?" She incredulously asked._

"_I'm a man of my word." He assured her._

_She had still been uncertain, but knew that she had never doubted him before. She certainly wouldn't doubt him in this situation. She flashed him one of her trademark smiles, but he did not smile back._

_She continued to smile; that was just the way Shinji was. Looks certainly weren't deceiving…_

Hikari had looked down as that memory flashed into her mind rather randomly. Slowly, she found her conscious suddenly become dull and blurred…she heard her name being called from a variety of tones…

"_Hikari, Hikari…"_

"_Hikari…"_

"_..Hikari, Hikari, wake up…"_

"_Hikari…Hikari?"_

"_HIKARI! YOO HOO!"_

That tone was all too familiar.

"Gah!" Hikari gasped, frantically looking around. Kasumi and Haruka's eyes widened, gazing at the blue-haired girl with wonder and curiosity.

"You okay kid?" Haruka asked, raising one brow.

Hikari nodded multiple times. "Yeah, yeah, I—I'm fine. Come on let's go, we're losing him."

Hikari shook off the light-headed feeling and followed a skipping Haruka, and a collected Kasumi. Hikari didn't know how to define herself at that moment; she'd assume the best word would be…

_Lost._

They didn't know how, and they didn't know why, but they soon found themselves behind an aged warehouse, currently not in operation. They leaned up against the back of the building, hearing the clacks of heels along with the thuds of heavy boots.

"Where are we?" Haruka asked in a low whisper.

"Hmm, some sort of warehouse…" Kasumi observed.

"Why would Shinji go to a warehouse?"

"Maybe to work?" Hikari offered.

Haruka and Kasumi exchanged unconvinced glances. Hikari mentally scowled at their response, but focused herself into the situation once more.

"Besides, I don't think that the warehouse would have people work this late…unless they follow colonial time rules…" Kasumi said.

"Why don't we just go inside, and see what's going on?" Haruka suggested.

Kasumi glanced at the many people rather suspiciously walking into the building. They handed a slip of paper to a surly-looking man outside the door with a pair of sleek black sunglasses covering his eyes. The women were dressed in the shortest skirts and dresses one could imagine, whereas the guys were dressed in cargos and wife beaters. Many of the men looked tough and threatening.

"Are you sure we should go in there? Looks like some kind of special club for…well-toned people." Haruka said, observing the large biceps one man had walk in. After looking at that man, she slightly glanced at her own pencil-thin arms with a frown.

"Now come on, if this involves Hikari in trouble, we'll risk it. I'm sure we can get ourselves in." Kasumi scolded at Haruka, determination in her voice.

Haruka was taken aback a little, but was used to the constant scolding and reprimanding…and hitting from Kasumi. Hikari trailed behind the two to the main entrance where the man stood. When he saw the three girls appear before him, he lifted his sunglasses up, and eyed them all up and down. Except he seemed a bit curious instead of interested.

"Aren't you girls a little young to be here?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We know the owner." Kasumi instantly said.

To their surprise, the man began to chuckle. "This place don't really have an owner sweetheart, but thanks for the try, it was cute. Real cute."

Kasumi angrily pouted, wanting desperately to smash the guy's head in with her mallet. Haruka silently shushed her as the man eagerly awaited another attempt from the three young women to gain entry into the club.

"We know someone in there." Haruka said, without thinking.

Hikari's eyes widened as Kasumi held back her rage to kill the spunky brunette beside her. If Shinji ever found out that Hikari was following him, why...heaven would expect her early.

"Oh yeah? Who?" The man asked, breaking Hikari from her frightening thoughts of Shinji beating her to death.

"Sh-Shinji." Haruka trembled.

Then, the man's countenance changed from sarcastic to curious, and convinced. His smirk disappeared, and he uncrossed his arms. They were all confused as to why the man began taking them seriously all of a sudden.

"You know Shinji?" He skeptically asked in a low voice.

"Why yes we do!" Kasumi confidently said, putting one hand on her hip.

Hikari suddenly became nervous as the man stood there, looking unsure.

"What're your names?" He asked. _"No way these three kids could know Shinji." _He thought to himself while asking the question.

"Uh, I'm Amaya." Kasumi said.

"I'm Hana." Haruka managed to think up.

"And I'm Michiko." Hikari said.

"Hmm, Michiko? That means beautiful…and you certainly are." He commented, smiling wide at the young blue-haired beauty.

Hikari slightly smiled, not knowing how to respond.

"If you young ladies know Shinji, you're welcome here anytime. Just tell them you're friends of ol' Isi. Especially you, dear." The man named Isi took Hikari's hand for a couple seconds before letting it go.

Hikari awkwardly stood there, not knowing how to respond again.

The three cautiously walked in, passing suspicious glances to the man named Isi.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Kasumi yelled once out of earshot of Isi.

"Well how else were we supposed to get in here?" Haruka asked.

"We could've snuck in!"

"Yeah, well usually when we try to sneak in somewhere, like the movie theatre if you recall, it always ends up getting us arrested. Shinji will be sure to see us if that happens."

Kasumi sighed, and continued walking in. Once they were at the bottom of the stairs, she faced the two other girls.

"Act natural, blend in with the crowd, and PLEASE don't do anything stupid." She instructed.

"We're not sticking together?" Hikari asked, a little intimidated by the people in the building.

"It'd be best for us not to."

Hikari shuddered, glancing at the many tough men and women who towered over her small stature. Kasumi noticed, whereas Haruka was looking around for food.

"Hey, don't be afraid kid. Nothing bad will happen, I assure you. You've got your phone, right?" Kasumi asked.

Hikari reached into her pocket, and saw the familiar enV. Nodding, she tucked it back into the small pocket in her skirt, and looked back up at Kasumi.

"All right, let's meet at the staircase in fifteen minutes, and see if any of us have seen him. It shouldn't take long, considering this place isn't exactly large."

"Or flattering." Haruka added, pinching her nose at the essence of sweat.

"All right, let's go."

The three dispersed in three different directions, Hikari literally shaking from terror.

She had found the building very uncomfortable to be in. The room she was in had two floors; the bottom one she was on now, and the second, which was visible from the bottom. Railings bordered the edges of the second floor, where many people talked and walked. It was stuffy, hot, dusty, and definitely too crowded. Hikari struggled to move deep within the crowd, searching for a familiar, tall, purple-haired man.

Kasumi rudely pushed through the crowd, ignoring threats from muscular women holding beer bottles. She searched the crowded basement, but still did not find her friend's mysterious significant other. She sighed and continued to look, that same determination pulsing through her veins.

Haruka felt herself get hungrier and hungrier as she pushed herself through the horde of obstreperous men and women. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to eat. Even if Kasumi killed her for slacking off, at least she would've died with a full stomach. She eagerly went to the bar, hoping that they sold good food.

"What'll it be young lady?" The bartender in his early twenties asked the brunette.

Haruka scanned over the menu that hung from the ceiling. She saw nothing that pleased her. Basically it was beer, wine, beer, French fries, beer, chips, beer…nothing superficial whatsoever; Just beer and things that went well with beer. Except steamed crabs of course, steamed crabs ALWAYS went well with beer.

"Yeah, I'll just have a Coke." Haruka ordered, shrugging.

"Sorry dear, we don't have Coke." The bartender said, scrubbing a tall glass.

"What? No one doesn't sell Coke!" She said.

"If you mean the drink, then I'm afraid that's true. If you mean…the other thing, go out back. I saw some guys passing some goods."

"Ugh, forget it." Haruka hopped off the stool, leaving the green-haired bartender and went back on her mission to find Shinji. She figured it wouldn't be hard, considering that Shinji towered over everybody he met, even his brother. Yet, she couldn't set her eyes on a purple-haired somewhat-emo man.

"Oh this is useless…" Haruka muttered to herself. "We might as well leave…"

It had felt like hours had gone by before the three finally gave up. Shinji was nowhere to be seen, and they certainly wouldn't succeed if they waited any longer. It wasn't like Shinji was going to pop out of nowhere…

"But we saw him walk in here!" Hikari claimed as Kasumi began leading her out of the building.

"Do you see him in here? No. I don't." Kasumi snapped back.

Hikari sighed hopelessly, but then realized she didn't hear a witty comeback from her brown-haired friend.

"Where's Haruka?" The blunette wondered aloud, Kasumi stopping in her tracks.

Hikari heard Kasumi mutter, "oh my God, not again…"

"We need to find her Kasumi!" Hikari expressed.

"Thanks Captain Obvious!" Kasumi angrily replied.

"No need to be so bitchy!"

"Hey! Don't use language like that!"

A man roughly bumped into the two, ending their fight. The man screamed out:

"_PLACE YOUR BETS! PLACE YOUR BETS HERE!"_

Hikari and Kasumi didn't seem to notice the importance of that statement, along with the many to follow…

"I'm going with The Slaughterer!"

"No way, The Tiger will DEFINITELY kill The Slaughterer!"

"Why do you think The Slaughterer is called 'The Slaughterer' idiot? The Slaughterer will definitely win!" A raven-haired boy screamed out.

A certain group of people laughed at the young man and walked away.

"Damn all these people to hell…I'm just trying to fit in with you…" He muttered, walking to another part of the basement in a huff.

"Haruka! Where the hell are you?" Hikari cried out.

Kasumi's eyes widened, and she instantly clapped her hand over Hikari's mouth. Hikari shot her a confused look.

"Remember we're _undercover!_ Haruka isn't Haruka, she's uh…oh God what was her name again…?"

"I-I can't remember…" Hikari said, scratching her head confusingly.

Kasumi groaned, loudly, as she started taking long strides throughout the overpopulated area. Hikari innocently followed the aggravated tomboy. After a couple of seconds of angry stomping from Kasumi, the two had caught sight of Haruka at the bar, eating a little too fast. Kasumi growled and grabbed Haruka's shoulder, turning her around. Seeing the shrimp sticking out of the brunette's mouth made Kasumi irately sigh, as if she were Haruka's mother. Behind them, Hikari quietly giggled.

"HARUKA!" Kasumi angrily shouted. Haruka spit the shrimp out of her mouth, and started verbally attacking the redhead.

"Hey, it took me a half an hour to get this guy to give me shrimp. Now I'm gonna eat it IN PEACE and WITHOUT PAIN!" Haruka declared.

Kasumi averted her eyes to the handsome, green-eyed man. He shrugged, lifting up his hands in defeat.

"Sorry, she can be pretty…mean." He said in a somewhat gruff voice.

"Don't give her food. It doesn't help her stay focused." Kasumi informed the man, glaring at Haruka.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Kasumi kept on glaring at Haruka, Haruka glaring back.

They stared, and stared, and stared, and stared…

Kasumi blinked twice.

"HAHA! I WIN!" Haruka cheerfully shouted.

Kasumi rolled her eyes with annoyance as Hikari continued to giggle. The bartender even smiled a little at Haruka's kookiness.

Then, all of a sudden, the lights went low; the only source of bright light was in the center of the room where a white circle was drawn. Every person in the area gathered as close as they could to the circle. A man in a black suit walked into the middle of the circle with a cheap microphone.

"Is everybody ready to rrrrrrrumble!" He screamed into the microphone.

The question was answered by screams from girls and "woot woots" from the men. Hikari, Haruka and Kasumi were ready to leave when the man said this. They curiously looked back to where everyone was gathered. The men raised their fists into the air, a cheerful, eager look on their face.

"What're they doing? Is this come kind of cult?" Hikari asked, even more scared for her husband, and herself.

"Let's wait around and see…" Kasumi said.

So they could get a better view, they climbed up a couple stairs so the emcee was clearly seen.

All three fell silent.

"Then let me introduce to you…weighing in at two-hundred and sixty pounds, TAKESHI THE TIGER!"

Screams flooded the room again as a tall, muscular African-American guy with spiky hair stepped into the circle, wearing only a white wife beater and espresso brown cargo pants. His face read anger and violence. All three girls pinched their faces in fear as they watched the brute man punch the air in front of him.

"Come on guys let's go…" Hikari said, turning around with her two best friends. "Shinji would never go to a place like this."

"And his opponent…weighing in at two-hundred and ten pounds, at the young age of 21…SHINJI THE SLAUGHTERER!"

Hikari stopped in her tracks. Kasumi and Haruka abruptly turned around hearing this, but it took Hikari a couple of seconds to believe it. Slowly, she turned around, clenching her fists and holding them up to her mouth.

"Are you sure about that?" Haruka inappropriately commented.

There he was. He walked into the white circle with "Takeshi the Tiger", that same look on his face. Hikari was flabbergasted by the size of Shinji's muscle on his arms and his legs. She had never noticed, considering he always wore clothing that fully-covered his arms and legs. His attire was a black wife beater and a pair of casual black athletic shorts. The eyes she fell in love with more piercing then ever, the lips she kissed that one summer night in a thin harsh line.

Hikari's jaw dropped. This was a fight.

Not just any regular fight you see on television though. Both Shinji and Takeshi had no mouth guards, no caged ring, and they were fighting with their bare fists…

This was an _illegal _fight.

A sound related to a cry escaped from Hikari's throat as she heard the bell's ring reverberate through the small room, along with the excited cheers of the audience watching.

"No!" Hikari yelled out.

Takeshi landed a left hook punch to Shinji's jaw, making him stumble back some. Shinji unleashed a series of left and right punches to Takeshi's jaw and temple. Takeshi came back with a revolving kick to his gut. It seemed like Shinji didn't even notice it.

Hikari noticed something in Shinji's eyes. They were now not the ones she had fallen in love with. They were fiery, enraged; possessed.

Shinji landed a perfect kick right to Takeshi's jaw, and followed with a snap kick right to his rib cage. He waited in a fighting stance for "The Tiger" to stand up straight again. It didn't take him long.

Then, almost out of nowhere, Takeshi landed a perfectly executed uppercut, to Shinji's chin. Hikari swore she heard something crack over the "OH'S!" of the crowd. Shinji shook his head from side to side, trying to shake off the throbbing in the back of his head.

Chest, temple, ribs, abs, knees. These were all the places Shinji punched the combination of "left-right-left" or in this case, "right-left-right" to Takeshi over and over again.

Hikari turned and ran away, leaving her two friends to scurry behind her.

She had no idea who that Shinji was.


	3. Sweet Schoolgirl to LateNight Lady

**Pokeshipping/Contestshipping/Ikarishipping—I Don't Want A Fighter**

**Chapter 3: Sweet Schoolgirl to Late-Night Lady **

"Hikari! Hikari wait!" Kasumi yelled at the seventeen-year old who ran recklessly in the busy streets.

Hikari ignored her friend. After what she had just seen, she really did not feel like talking, or seeing anybody. Unaware, and absent-mindedly forgetting the dangers of downtown Veilstone, Hikari continued to run away from the warehouse where her husband, one she claimed she _loved_ was brutally assaulting someone for a low-class crowd's entertainment.

Kasumi stood on the sidewalks, feeling concerned for her young friend.

"_No seventeen-year old should have to deal with this."_ She thought to herself.

She ran, and ran, and ran. At that moment, she was denying the philosophical statement, _"you can't run away from your problems." _The girl was at the point where she physically couldn't run away from her problems, considering that there were too many; way too many for her to deal with.

Her mind went blurry again. She found herself stumbling on the sidewalks, running into random people, and going up to random houses. It was almost like she was in a drunken stupor, except not drunk from alcohol, drunk with fear.

She didn't know how, but she found herself in the familiar neighborhood, in front of the familiar house.

So she thought.

Innocently climbing up the steps to the door, Hikari knocked on the door, holding her head with her other hand. No one ever opened the door, but a glass beer bottle was thrown at her three seconds after, a piece of glass slicing her arm.

She had no voice to scream with though.

The blood poured down her arm, temporarily staining her arm red as she fell down the steps, more red goo on her lip and cheek. Her whole body went numb, and at that moment, she felt as if she was the hatred of the world, the putrescence, the repulsiveness, everything ugly.

She groaned, and stumbled to her feet.

After about an hour of, "you don't live here!" and "piss off you drunk!", Hikari found her home. This time, she was SURE it was her house, because she recognized the petunias planted out front. She remembered a time where she was like those petunias. She was once happy with her life, blessed with many friends, cheerful, and friends with herself.

All of that changed…because of _that man._

She quickly slammed the door shut and locked it, the fear of getting attacked now rapidly flowing through her mind. Frantically, she ran to her room and left the lights off; still, she did not feel safe in her own body.

On the light blue-sheeted bed, a young woman lied crying her little heart out. The blood that covered her stained these sheets, leaving a mark of just how doleful her life was. She buried her pretty little face in her arms, hoping that no one saw her in this type of despair.

Thunder quietly boomed outside, signaling that a storm was soon approaching. Hikari gingerly lifted her head up to look out the window; seeing the sky's daunting countenance reminding her of _him._

She sighed deeply, trying to get herself to stop crying.

Feeling as though it would help her regain her happiness, she took a hot shower. The warm water colliding with her face camouflaged the tears that still ran down her face. Blood slid of her body like a snake, reddish water at the bottom nearly causing her to vomit. Wincing whenever the water hit her wounds, she slowly, yet delicately rubbed the soap over her white, soft skin, watching the white bubble water mix with the maroon color of red. The shampoo's scent of ginger snap gave her a sense of relaxation and serenity.

Thunder rumbled once again, making her slightly jump as she went over to her sink.

She was barely able to open the drawer, considering her body was still throbbing with an emotion she could not decipher. She took out ACE bandage and some gauze, and began to wrap her arm up. The gauze's white, pure color was instantly drowned within the blood's red color of pain.

It reminded her of her life story.

Shaking the thought out of her mind, she tiptoed out of the bathroom, wrapping a white towel around her tiny frame.

Well, compared to the frame she saw on her husband tonight. She didn't even know if she wanted to call…_that man…_her husband anymore. Sure, Shinji was cold, but he would NEVER do anything like that. Especially for other people's amusement; he only did things he thought were good for him and him only. He didn't care about the people around him, not even his wife.

So she thought.

That night, she went to bed only in her underwear, knowing that…_that man…_wouldn't be coming home that night. No, he'd probably spend the rest of the night fighting, then the next day training to fight.

As one more tear rolled down her face, she slowly drifted to sleep, the sounds of rain pitter-pattering the windows almost a lullaby.

Could her life be _anymore _a nightmare?

She awoke that morning alone, her long blue hair still a tad damp. Slowly she sat up, stretching her arms as she slowly stepped out of bed. Still in her bra and panties, she made the bed, ignoring the red stains, while making sure the curtains were closed. She wouldn't want…_that man_…being responsible for beating up a Peeping Tom, would she?

Her stomach groaned for food, so she slipped on a black tank and plaid PJ pants, and walked into the kitchen.

After a few minutes of assembling, cooking and cleaning, a cup of Lady Grey tea sat in front of her, along with two blueberry muffins. She sat in doleful silence, trying not to cry again. For the one-billionth time in her life, she felt lonely.

Knocks on the door made her snap her head up.

"Hikari?" A familiar, cheerful voice said.

Hikari rushed to the door, and undid the locks to see Haruka with concern in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have run off like that." Haruka sternly said, slightly glancing at the ACE bandage as she stepped into the house.

Hikari did not respond as she closed the door and fastened the locks again. Instead, she looked down at her feet, right at her blue-painted toenails.

"Hikari…I…" Haruka could not find the words she was looking for. It was hard to see Hikari look even more depressed then she did before; if that were ever possible.

"I don't know what to say." Haruka finally managed to say.

Slowly, Hikari looked up at her friend. Her fists were clenched, and her usual beautiful blue eyes were now clouded with fear and distrust. Haruka took a step toward the girl, but the blue-haired beauty quickly turned and walked back to the kitchen, eying the steam that delicately rose from her teacup.

"I think you know what you want to say…" Hikari spoke, her voice choked up.

"What do I want to say then?" Haruka gently questioned.

Hikari's back was to the brunette's. "You want to say that this is the perfect time to divorce him, considering that he's _dangerous, evil…enraged. _Well guess what?"

Haruka couldn't deny that was what she was thinking. "What?"

"…I believe you."

Her sapphire eyes widened when she heard her young friend speak those words.

"You…what?" Haruka incredulously questioned.

"Did I frickin' stutter? I said I BELIEVE YOU." Hikari rather rudely replied.

Haruka slightly pouted at Hikari's tone, but let it pass, considering what she just heard.

"Are you sure?" Haruka asked, still unsure about this.

"Positive."

"But Hikari…how do you think he's going to take it?" Haruka asked.

Before Hikari answered, Kasumi walked in. When she saw Hikari's state, mostly the bandage, she rushed over to her, alarm in her eyes.

"Oh Hikari your arm!" Kasumi handled her spaghetti-like arms as if her mother.

Hikari's mother was something that would not be mentioned in her presence.

"WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?" Kasumi asked, Hikari surprised about how quickly Kasumi transitioned from worry to anger.

"He didn't do anything…I just fell. I was being stupid, it's not a big deal." Hikari turned away from Kasumi and went back over to her tea, taking one small sip.

Now all was silent. Hikari tried to avoid contact with her only two friends while Haruka and Kasumi exchanged doleful glances, nodded, and turned back to the blue-haired girl.

"Hikari, I…what're you thinking right now?" Kasumi asked, gingerly touching the young girl's shoulder.

Hikari wrapped her tiny fingers around the cup's handle, ignoring the heat that transmitted from it. She only looked at the tea as she spoke, observing the swirling brown liquid.

"I feel weak, I feel concerned, and most of all, I feel scared." Hikari looked up. "I'm scared for my _life._"

"What?" Haruka stupidly asked, putting her finger to her chin in confusion.

"Don't you guys GET IT?" Hikari loudly questioned, getting to her feet. "You SAW what he was doing in there! YOU SAW how he literally KILLED that guy! Do you know what that means? HE'S DANGEROUS. He could kill me with one punch if I say something wrong! If he ever found out I went there with you two…well…the world would be finally rid of me. I can't do this anymore, not after I find this out about my so-called _prince charming. _I'm not doing this anymore, I'm getting out of here."

After her long speech, Hikari stomped off to her room, and grabbed a large bag. Haruka and Kasumi entered the room shortly after to find her stuffing all of her clothes into the bag with tears escaping from her eyes.

"Hikari! Stop!" Haruka yelled out, trying to get her friend to stop packing.

"Hikari! Please!" Kasumi added.

"No! NO! SHUT UP!" Hikari's voice choked as more tears rolled down her face, her pace quickening.

"HIKARI!" Kasumi and Haruka screamed in unison.

Hikari stopped, and sat back against the side of the bed, finally breaking down. The two women rushed to her side and began to comfort the child. Hikari covered her face with one hand as she hiccupped with sobs. Haruka finger-combed her luscious blue hair as Kasumi hugged her with one arm.

"It's all right Hikari…just calm down…" Kasumi soothed.

"We'll get through this…" Haruka added, brushing Hikari's bangs out of her face.

"I just don't know WHAT TO DO!" She cried out, leaning her bed back with her eyes closed.

"Hey, look at me." Kasumi grabbed the girl's shoulder and twisted her so she faced her. Kasumi ignored the melancholy that ran through her when she saw Hikari's red face glistening with tears.

"We're going to get through this, okay? You aren't alone, you've got us."

Haruka gave Hikari two thumbs up, making Hikari chuckle a little.

"We'll figure this out, and pretty soon, your life will be better then it is now. First, we have to figure out why Shinji is doing this."

"It's not like he's going to just tell us!" Hikari pointed out, the tears suddenly gone from her eyes.

Haruka shrugged. "We could ask around the place, using those names as disguises just in case."

Kasumi grinned at the idea. "I think you might have something else other then an adoration for food in that brain of yours!"

Haruka beamed at this, since she there was rarely an occasion where she received a comment from Kasumi.

"I think I know a way we can get in and out of that place without anyone knowing who we are."

Hikari raised an eyebrow, obviously bewildered with Haruka's rather devilish smile. Kasumi grew more scared by the second seeing this look on the brunette's face.

"I know EXACTLY what to do."

Haruka eagerly rose to her feet, and egged Hikari on to get dressed and meet her and Kasumi outside once done. Hikari tilted her head to the side upon seeing the sudden, yet familiar zeal in Haruka's eyes.

Haruka grabbed Kasumi's wrist and dragged her out of the house. Hikari covered her smile when she saw Kasumi roll her eyes.

"Don't dislocate my shoulder you freaking lunatic!"

"…You're the lunatic!"

Hikari giggled as she stooped down to her bag and pulled out a pair of light blue jeans, a long fitting black tank top and her small blue clutch. She rushed out the door, and cautiously walked down the steps when she saw Haruka holding onto a struggling Kasumi.

"Haruka…?" Hikari quietly questioned.

"LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT TO!" Kasumi protested, wildly trying to get out of Haruka's grasp. Haruka, surprisingly was stronger, and kept a strong hold on Kasumi, that smile still on her face.

"Sure you do Kasumi!" Haruka encouraged.

"What're we doing exactly?" Hikari asked, still flummoxed.

"Just wait and see, young apprentice. Just wait and see."

Hikari followed as Haruka walked forward, Kasumi still in her grasp. People passing by gave questioning looks to Haruka when they saw what she was doing with Kasumi. Haruka ensured them with a rather stupid comeback:

"It's okay, I'm a doctor."

They still looked suspicious, but just shrugged it off; not many people seemed to care anymore these days. Soon, Hikari, Haruka, and a struggling Kasumi were entering a local clothes store that sold striking, yet posh wardrobe. Hikari gave Haruka yet another questioning look, but she just smiled and continued walking through the vast variety of dresses, Kasumi now settled down.

"You will never get me to wear any of these disgusting things." Kasumi threatened, getting right up in Haruka's face.

Haruka did not seem intimidated, but inside, she was shaking from trepidation.

"We're doing this for Hikari, all right? If you really cared about her, then you'd help out. All you need to do is put the dress on for a couple of nights, and then you're done."

After about ten seconds of tension, Kasumi sighed in defeat, and began shuffling through the array of dresses on just one rack.

"What exactly are we doing?" Hikari asked while Haruka copied Kasumi.

"Well, we want to find out why Shinji is doing this, right? Which means we need to go into that warehouse again, but in disguise. You do remember the outfits all those chicks were wearing, right?"

Hikari nodded.

"Well, we need to do that to. It's like we're spies, but not spies at the same time."

Hikari was slightly puzzled by this statement, but realized what Haruka was saying.

"So basically we're choosing our 'disguises'." Hikari clarified.

Haruka nodded grinning. "Yup! We're sexing you up!"

Hikari widened her eyes at the term, but shrugged it off. While Haruka and Kasumi tried on and cooed over a number of dresses (well, Haruka did the cooing), Hikari awkwardly stood in a corner, rubbing her arm.

"…Can we go?" Hikari quietly asked as Haruka carried two more dresses to the dressing room.

"Not until we decide on our looks. We're just doing dresses now, we need to do other stuff, you know!"

"Like…what?"

"Like hair, make up, shoes, jewelry…gosh, you have much to learn child."

Haruka strutted off while Hikari just stood there, a tad freaked out. Kasumi walked up to the blunette, and patted her on the back.

"Don't worry, I'm scared too."

Hikari smiled a little, but it quickly disappeared when Haruka appeared from the dressing room, posing for the two girls.

Haruka showed off a dark red side strap, backless dress that flowed down to her knees in a gypsy-like manner. The straps were accented with fake, yet shining diamonds that slightly dangled from the strap itself. The same type of diamonds dangled from right below the bust, except they angled down from the center that somewhat jingled when Haruka moved. It was a pretty safe dress in terms of revealing parts, but it still had a glamorous look to it.

"So, what do you think?" Haruka asked.

"I think that you aren't Haruka anymore." Kasumi commented.

Haruka groaned while rolling her eyes. "Come on guys this is part of our whole mission! Now is it good or not?"

Kasumi and Hikari gave her the thumbs up, making Haruka beam.

"Now its Kasumi's turn!" Haruka said, pulling the redhead into the dressing room.

Hikari awkwardly stood there, not seeing the clerk come up to her.

"Having any trouble ma'am?" He asked, standing a little too close to her.

Hikari backed up a little, holding her hand up. "No, I'm just here with friends, I'm fine."

He took one step closer to her, an eager smile on his face. "I know JUST the thing that would look absolutely divine on you!"

The man was overly flamboyant, which gave Hikari a sense of discomfort, but she shrugged it off, trying to make the man happy. Obviously he did not know that she was the most-hated person in this region.

"…Really?" She asked, trying to sound interested.

"Hang on one second darling, I'll be right back."

He ran off like a gazelle into the back, leaving Hikari there with her eyes widened from what just happened.

"Hikari, you will love this!"

The blue-haired girl turned back to where the dressing room was, and saw Haruka walk out with a different girl.

So she thought.

"Ka-Kasumi?" Hikari questioned, bending over in astonishment.

Kasumi pouted and crossed her arms, obviously annoyed with what she was wearing. She sported a sapphire blue strapless dress that stopped above the knees. The bust was accented with an average-sizes silver strap with a small silver rose at the end of it.

"Have I done well Hikari?" Haruka asked, pushing Kasumi forward.

"Yes, I do believe you have Haruka! Kasumi, you look beautiful." Hikari commented.

Kasumi grunted. "I'm only doing this for you."

"And I appreciate it, I really do."

Kasumi smiled at this. "I'm very glad you do. Now it's time for YOU to suffer."

After she spoke this, the same clerk came back, holding what seemed like a simple black dress.

"This will look great on you, uh…?"

"Uh, Hikari." Hikari said, quickly regretting it.

He didn't seem to make a reaction to hearing her name. When he handed her the dress with enthusiasm, she hesitantly took it in her small hands. She looked at her friends with questioning eyes, and they nodded, giving her the "okay" to try on the dress. With that notion, she walked into the dressing room.

"Will you be buying that?" The clerk asked the other two girls.

"Yes PLEASE!" Haruka replied.

Hikari closed and locked the dresser door, and stared at herself in the mirror. Sure, she was a sight for sore eyes, but she didn't feel that way. She felt ugly, revolting, hated; all things bad in the world. When she thought these things, she turned away from the mirror, and found herself gazing at the dress again. Sighing, she cautiously began to strip, bad thoughts coming into her mind.

Her first thought was Shinji figuring out what she and her friends were doing. She shut her eyes closed when she imagined him punching her repeatedly, beating her to the ground until she was lifeless. She sniffed back tears, not wanting to cry right there in the dressing room while everyone eagerly awaited her arrival. Now in her underwear, she gingerly slipped on the dress, trying not to rip its fine material. Reaching her hand to the back, she zipped it the zipper until the dress perfectly fit her, and turned back at the mirror, pushing those awful thoughts aside when she saw her face.

It was a simple black v-neck dress that dipped dangerously low. From below the bust, lighter shades of black flowed down to the bottom of her knees, making her look like she had wings when she walked. It was an open back dress, which made Hikari uneasy, but she knew she had to do this. For the sake of her marriage, and her life, she knew she had to do this.

Sighing, she stepped out of the room, leaving her clothes that strewed the compact room. When she stepped out into the store, she closed her eyes, trying to diminish the gasps and squeals that erupted from her friends, and everyone in the store.

"Hikari you look…you look…" Haruka stuttered, eying her friend up and down.

The way that Hikari's long blue hair fell upon the dress gave it a classier yet sexier look. If Hikari would only open her eyes and smile, the outfit would be complete.

"Oh Hikari, please open your eyes." Haruka begged

Hikari slowly opened her radiant blue eyes, making that clerk nearly jump in the air from excitement.

"Now SMILE." Haruka practically commanded.

This Hikari did not do. She was in absolutely no mood for smiling. At that moment, she felt very dirty wearing that dress. Shaking her head "no" in response to Haruka, she covered her revealing chest with her arms.

"Hikari." Haruka sternly said, walking up to the girl.

"I don't feel comfortable in this, to be honest." Hikari straightforwardly said.

Haruka annoyingly put her hands on her hips. "Well I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wear that."

"Can't I just wear the outfit I wore last time?" Hikari started to plead, still covering her chest.

Haruka pulled Hikari's arms away from her bust, and kept them at her sides.

"You look HOT Hikari, can't you accept that?"

Hikari shook her head from side to side again, this time more frantically. Haruka groaned and turned her head back to the clerk. "Ring this up please."

As he nodded and walked to the cash register, Hikari started to squirm with worry and disgust.

"I DON'T WANT TO WEAR THIS!"

"Do you still want to be the most hated person in the world?" Haruka asked, without thinking.

Hikari stomped her foot, overcome with emotions. "NO! I DON'T! But I can't help that, can I? I just HAVE to be the most-despised individual in this world, do I? I can't do anything about that, can I?"

Haruka realized there that what she said was totally not appropriate, and it was wrong. Hikari was still a very sensitive teenager, and it was needed that you approach her with that topic with caution, not anger or annoyance. It would only upset her more.

"Hikari…I'm sorry, okay? I didn't want to remind you about that in such a rude way, but I said it because I don't want you to feel bad about yourself anymore."

Haruka took Hikari away from the stunned Kasumi and sales clerk to the mirror in the dressing room hallway. The brunette faced her young friend to the mirror, and told her to open her eyes.

"You look absolutely radiant in that dress, Hikari. There is absolutely nothing ugly about you when you wear that dress, heck, not even when you wear anything! You're wearing that dress, and you're wearing it because it's going to help you get a husband out of Shinji. It will, trust me." Haruka stated.

"What if he sees me in there? He's going to tear me apart, verbally and/or physically! Each of them hurt, really badly. I could do without them, I'd rather have my quiet, careless husband then an enraged, psycho husband." Hikari said.

"What matters is that after all this, you will get some type of husband. What I know of them is that they care about their wives, and they will do anything so that they're safe."

Hikari mentally grunted at this, knowing Shinji would never do any act of kindness toward her, or anyone. However, she did not show this denial, and nodded, smoothing her hands over the dress she was in.

"It's pretty." She commented, nodding.

Haruka smiled at this. "Now if you just smiled, you would look a gazillion times prettier!"

Then, without feeling any sort of pain, Hikari smiled into the mirror.

With the dress, her hair, her eyes, and her smile…she looked as gorgeous as one could be.

"We're ready for phase two." Haruka commented, letting Hikari go back into the dressing room to change out of the dress.

When Hikari stepped into the dressing room and saw herself in the mirror…

She smiled again. That same sense of hope came to her again.

It pulsed throughout her the whole day.


	4. Braggart Bartenders and Deluded Dimwits

_PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter_

**Chapter 4—Braggart Bartenders and Deluded Dimwits**

The time is five thirty at night. Our young friend Hikari is sitting in her living room, waiting for her nonchalant, not so significant other to return home. That way, she could signal to her friends that it was time to prepare for what would be the beginning of triumph for Hikari. It seemed to take forever for the purple-haired man to enter the house, to her anyway, but he did, somewhere around quarter of.

When she saw him, that familiar sense of trepidation began to enter her mind, which led her to not greet him with her usual "Hi Shinji!" She silently observed his stature as he walked in, noting how all of his clothing concealed the large muscle she unfortunately caught sight of the night before.

A night she shall never forget in her young life.

It wasn't a surprise to her, but he didn't even take notice of her presence. Considering, of course, her semblance was quite small compared to his dark, enigmatic one.

As he headed for the shower, Hikari quietly trailed behind him, waiting until he was in the bathroom.

Oh the number of times she prayed to God that he wouldn't turn around…

Unbeknownst to her, his eyes darted back and forth, but did not turn around. His senses were rather irritable, but he felt that after the night he went through, he was just overreacting to the air conditioner or something.

"Hmph…" He quietly grunted before shifting into the bathroom.

When the door shut closed, she slipped into the bedroom, and quickly slipped on a pair of tennis shoes, looking over her shoulder every few seconds. After ruffling her hair, even though she knew Haruka would do countless things to it, she turned around.

Her royal blue eyes violently collided with dark coal orbs of distrust; she yelped, but kept her place. It was uncomfortable for him to be so close to her, but at this particular standpoint, he really didn't care.

He didn't tend to care much when it came to the status quo of life; she knew that all too well.

"Oh, Shinji…don't do that, please." She breathed out, putting her hand to her chest.

He said nothing. All he did was stare at her, suspicion lurking in those black eyes. She looked at the ground, awkwardly staring at both her and his shoes, a stupid smile on her face.

"I'm just gonna…yeah…" She pointed to the door that was behind him.

A strong hand gripped her shoulder. Upon feeling this, she was overcome by a jolt of fear, so she jumped and slammed herself into the wall, eyes wide with apprehension.

Visions appeared in the girl's mind. The sight of punches being thrown to an innocent man's jaw by a guilt-free fist of fury. That fist belonged to the man that stood tall and mighty before her.

How could she not be _slightly _frightened?

"_Pathetic." _He thought to himself.

The only sound in the room was her staggered breathing.

As he stared at her, flummoxed by her actions, she began to feel the sense of fear heighten to a place she never knew existed. She also found this act to be a blaring insinuation to him that she knew about what he was doing late at night.

However, this was not Shinji's thought.

"…Where are you going?" He asked in that low menacing tone, inching closer to her.

"I-I'm just gonna go see Kasumi and Haruka." She replied, trying to sound innocent.

As he walked closer to her, she pressed up against the wall more, trying not to look at him. However, Shinji made this increasingly difficult, considering how powerful he was, mentally and physically, before Hikari's fragile figure.

"…This late at night?" He was not convinced by her claim.

"It's not that late." She mindlessly responded, trying to move towards the door.

"Hn."

There was a silence. Hikari tried to avoid Shinji's death stare as much as possible, considering that if she didn't, she'd probably kneel down and tell him the whole truth right there.

But she wasn't going to give in without a fight.

Neither was he.

As she awkwardly adjusted her gaze to other objects in the room, he suddenly took note of the ACE bandage carelessly wrapped around her arm. He also noticed the blood-stained gauze that lie underneath.

"…What did you do?" He asked, glancing at her arm.

Her mouth went ajar a bit when she looked down at her arm and realized she hadn't removed it.

"Oh, umm…I…"

He walked even closer to her.

"You WHAT?"

She flinched. "I accidently dropped a teacup and it cut against my arm…clumsy me!" She giggled at this.

All he did was stare daggers into her. When she saw his fists begin to clench, her adrenaline rushed, and her brain told her to get out of there.

"I'm just gonna…yeah…" She said again, pointing to the door that led out of the room, the door behind him.

She turned and walked away from the tension in the room, trying to be quick. When she opened the door and walked out, she didn't look back at her husband.

Despite the fact she did not gaze back at him, she could feel his rage build up.

There were no amicable feelings between the two at that moment.

Hikari didn't walk, nor did she swiftly walk; no. She _ran _away from her house, and she didn't look back. Her trademark blue hair flowed behind her as she sprinted to Haruka's one-floor home, that same apprehension in her.

He _had _to know. Never in her life has she ever been in a situation where he stopped her to ask her where she was going.

Normally, he wouldn't care where she went…

When she opened the front door to see Kasumi and Haruka discussing something, she was overwhelmed with relief, seeing such a peaceful state rather then the one she was just in.

Hikari's physical appearance was one to make Haruka and Kasumi concerned, leading Haruka to run over and embrace the seventeen-year old.

"It's about time! Did he come home?" Haruka asked, surprisingly being oblivious to Hikari's current status.

The girl nodded, looking down at the floor. "He actually talked to me today."

Kasumi stood up and walked over to the two girls upon hearing this. "You're kidding me, right?"

Hikari shrugged, as if it weren't a big deal; but it was.

"He just wanted to know where I was going, that's all." She informed.

Haruka folded her hands in a romantic fashion. "Awww!"

Kasumi hit the brunette on her arm. "No, not 'awww!', that's bad! He MUST know what we're doing."

Hikari's eyes widened. "You think so?"

Kasumi nodded.

"This is what I meant by DISGUISES! Hikari, he won't even NOTICE us in these outfits. Trust me. He's always used to the sweet, innocent little girl. Not the sexy, elegant lady she's gonna be tonight."

"You guys seem to be forgetting about the fact that he doesn't care about anything I do, so it really doesn't matter." Hikari brought up.

So she thought.

Haruka and Kasumi just shrugged it off, and dragged Hikari into the one bedroom that Haruka slept in.

It was lit by a number of small lamps that all had red shades. A queen-sized bed was placed horizontally against the wall, all three dresses lying on it. Next to each dress was one container of eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, blush, and lipstick that seemed to go nicely with the dress. A pair of heels sat at the bottom of the bed, below where the dress was, along with jewelry.

All that kind of stuff that Kasumi dreaded putting on. Hikari approached the same dress she tried on that day with caution.

If she thought she looked like a slut just in that dress alone…who knew what she was going to look like tonight.

"Come on guys, let's get moving! He's probably on his way there now!" Haruka said, already in her underwear. Kasumi and Haruka copied this move, and soon, all of them were standing there in the dresses, not knowing what to do next.

"Ummm…" Kasumi prolonged.

Haruka, somewhat annoyed, pushed the two on her bed and shoved a pair of shoes in each of their faces. Kasumi rudely grabbed them while Hikari gingerly took them in her hands, observing its features.

Kasumi's were (thankfully) small navy blue flats with one little bow to accent.

She was tall enough, why would she need heels?

Despite Haruka's kind gesture, she still wore a scowl on her face as she slipped them on. The chipper brunette rolled her eyes at this as she slipped on her heels to give her three more inches in height.

Hikari observed the two putting on the shoes, considering that she had never worn ones like these. A little scared, she looked down at the heels again, having second thoughts about this whole investigation. Haruka saw this, and reassured her once again that everything was going to be fine. Biting back her concern, Hikari slid her delicate feet into the black shoe that arched up about four inches. The shoe had a strap design that X-D over her ankle and the middle of her feet. When she stood up, she felt herself stumble somewhat, but soon gained balance. Her first reaction was how tall she felt in them, but then how uncomfortable she was.

The pain showed in her face.

"Haruka, I don't like this." Hikari openly said, slowly walking to her friend.

"Well you're just going to have to deal with it, Hikari." Haruka said, her tone reading irritation.

Hikari sighed and staggered over to Kasumi, whom was also having difficulties walking in the shoes.

"Hey, consider yourself lucky." Hikari commented, glancing down at the heels she immaturely sported.

Kasumi tried to feel empathy, but couldn't, and at the same time, didn't want to. Oh, how she despised those things girls call shoes…

But they knew better then to get on Haruka's last nerve, so they just practiced walking around the room, tripping every now and then.

"You're getting the hang of it!" Haruka encouraged.

Kasumi shot a glare at the brunette while Hikari just frowned. It was very obvious how excited Haruka was about all this.

There was no stopping her now.

After about a half an hour, the three stood in a circle, complete with their outfits, going over their plans for the evening.

Kasumi's whole outfit brought out the beauty in the color blue ultimately, considering that everything she wore was or accentuated the color. The shade of eye shadow was the same as the dress, sapphire blue with some silver, which was accented by the black eye liner and black mascara. Light pink blush lightened her cheeks as a shimmery lip-gloss covered her lips, making them glitter directly under light. After about a minute of disapproval, Haruka took out Kasumi's usual side ponytail, letting her long orange hair flow down her back in sienna waves. Her nails and toes were painted royal blue, and her slightly dangly earrings were blue also. A simple black choker was around her neck, which Kasumi kept tugging at. The outfit was completed by a small blue barrette, slightly pulling back her hair.

There was no doubt that Kasumi was feeling "blue" about all this, though.

Haruka, on the other hand, was all red. The same red dress was now accompanied with red shiny heels that had a three-inch heel to them. The heel was dangerously slim, increasing Haruka's clumsy self to trip. Her eyes were accented with black mascara, and silver eye shadow mixed with a deep pink, creating a sorbet-like color. Light pink blush, like Kasumi's, were delicately rubbed on her cheeks, plus a red/pink lip-gloss. She ditched the dog-ear-like style, and straightened her brown hair so that it was slightly past her shoulders. Her nails were painted red, as well as her toes. Her rose tattoo was certainly showing, which completed the look in an outlandish sort of way.

Hikari felt very, _very_ bad about how she wore that dress. So she could cover up the amount of cleavage it showed, she put on a heavily beaded necklace that was just silver chains. Many silver bangles were on her wrists, gallingly clanging every three seconds. Medium-sized hoops hung from her ears, causing her gentle lobes to get sorer by the minute. Her long blue hair was straightened even more, which made it elongate over her small bust to her stomach. Haruka had accented Hikari's blue hair with a silver glimmering barrette that held back her bangs in an elegant manner. The amount of make up Haruka put on Hikari was what disappointed and embarrassed her the most. Hikari's eyes were lit up with a smoky array of black/gray eye shadow and black mascara. Her cheeks remained the way they were, while her lips were a daring shade of red. Her nails were painted black/silver, both fingers and toes, and Haruka even put glitter on her face.

Hikari felt foolish as they walked out the door to Haruka's car.

"So what are our names again?" Haruka asked as Kasumi drived and Hikari occupied the back seat.

"Uhh…I think mine was Michiko…" Hikari remembered.

"That guy Isi will surely remember you Hikari." Haruka commented.

Hikari immaturely stuck her tongue out at Haruka. "You were Hana, and I think Kasumi was Amaya."

"…Yeah, that was it." Kasumi confirmed after a second of thinking.

The rest of the car ride was silent. Hikari regretted not bringing some sort of jacket, knowing that it gets cold, and that she was not comfortable showing the amount of skin she was as of now.

Pretty soon, the familiar warehouse came into view, and the three were stepping out of the car, Haruka putting on a strut as Kasumi and Hikari still tripped over a little. To their relief, the familiar man named Isi was letting people in; they recognized the sunglasses. When he caught sight of Haruka, he lowered those sunglasses of his, and immediately asked:

"Where's your blue-haired friend?"

Haruka motioned behind her to the young girl that slowly walked up to the door with Kasumi by her side. Hikari caught sight of the man named Isi raising his eyebrows up and down at her before he put his sunglasses back on.

"Go ahead in."

"Thank you." Haruka said before strutting in. Kasumi followed, slapping her hand against her forehead in disappointment of her spunky friend. As Hikari slowly entered, she felt something slap her right on her rear. She instantly turned around, the heat rushing to her face, and saw the man in sunglasses grinning right at her.

"Nice ass." He slyly commented, making her sick.

Upon hearing this, Hikari felt even sluttier, and was incredibly embarrassed by the amount of stares she got. She rushed in, and caught up with her two friends. It seemed like even more people were crowded into the building that night, which made Hikari feel like she was drowning. She started calling out her friends' disguise names, but heard no response over the deafening roar of drunken men and women. Whenever she stumbled in the heels, she found herself grabbing random things to keep her balance, mostly being the chest of other people. Some would push her back into more people, whereas some commented:

"damn, she is really drunk. WHOO!"

Not knowing where else to go, Hikari went to the back of the building, and hugged herself. The feeling of claustrophobia overcame her, thus creating tears in the corner of her blue orbs. Out of the corner of one of these eyes, she saw a large dot of red at the bar, which made her go over there immediately.

"Do you have shrimp again tonight?" Haruka asked the familiar green-haired bartender.

He leaned down to her, resting the side of his face in his palm, looking straight at her. "I do if you tell me what you're name is."

Haruka, in character, flirtatiously smiled at the comment. "My name is Hana, sly dog."

He smirked at this. "I thought you're name was Haruka."

"Some people call me that." She instantly covered up.

"Well can I call you that?"

She pretended to think for a moment. "Sure, why not."

"So, Haruka, you said you wanted shrimp?" He asked, not moving from the position he was in.

"Yes, I did." She said, feeling hunger overcome her again.

"Well, turns out we're out tonight." He said, standing up straight again.

She groaned at this. "Well then, you're useless."

"Aww, no need to hurt my feelings, pretty lady." He commented.

"Do you have anything else that I could eat that DOESN'T involve beer?" She asked, trying to sound annoyed.

"Well, there's something I have that you might like to taste." He said, leaning closer to her then he was before.

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? And what would that be?"

"Well, I'll give you a hint," he began, looking her in the eyes. "It's wet, it's delicious, and it's _very _hard to resist."

Haruka leaned back a little, smiling wide. "Really?"

Then, he turned around, and grabbed a bottle of Coke, and put it in front of her.

"Really." He replied, smirking at her reaction.

She cleared her throat. "Ahem…thanks."

"No problem sexy."

Haruka rolled her eyes at the nickname as she drank the Coke. She eyed around the building, trying to find her two friends in the huge midst of people. However, she could not see a woman in blue, or a young woman in black.

"Feeling a little lost babe?" He asked, that smug look still on his face.

She turned around, showing her annoyance. "First of all, I really don't care for your sexist nicknames BUDDY. And secondly, no, I'm just looking for someone."

He held his hands up and shrugged. "Whatever, just trying to keep the conversation going, uh…what's your name again?"

Haruka was about to say her disguise name, but then she started observing him. This green-haired man was actually _quite _the looker. His emerald hair was cut short at the back, but his bangs hung in a suave manner across his similar green eyes. He sported a black wife beater with a pair of dark brown cargos, and a pair of casual black tennis shoes. However, the way he wore it just looked…_hot. _Haruka soon found herself staring at this stranger, and he realized it.

"Like what you see?"

Haruka gasped in horror upon hearing this, and quickly rebutted. "NO!"

"I don't know what's going on in your mind, but I _do believe _you were just checking me out."

"I don't know what's going on in _your _mind, but I do believe you're stupid."

"Rrow! Someone's a little catty tonight." He smirked again, slightly showing his pearly whites. Everything about him was just _too perfect. _The thought was disgusting for Haruka, considering that she found an individual of the opposite sex who was a flirtatious jerk, incredibly breathtaking to look at.

"You need to stop being so goddamn arrogant." She finally said, sipping her Coke and looking away from him.

"Maybe you just need to become more tolerant." He replied, slightly raising his left eyebrow.

Aggravated, she turned back to him, and got right in his face. "Not to mention ANNOYING."

"You can't be perfect."

"Obviously you can't."

"Whoa, come on man, give me a break! I bent over backwards to give you shrimp last night, and you're attacking me! You might be good-looking, but you really aren't the nicest person." He replied, getting just a _little _serious.

"I'm not being nice because you're being so smug!" She replied a little too loudly.

"All right calm down. I know I'm arrogant but jeez YOU are irritable beyond belief lady!" He said, touching his finger to her nose. As a response to his action, her face scrunched up with anger. She hated being treated like a little kid with this…whatever the hell he was. With that in mind, she got to her feet and walked off, her nose stuck defiantly in the air while she yelled back to him:

"I DON'T NEED YOUR SHRIMP!"

She had not realized how suggestive that term sounded, but at that moment, she needed to shrug off her sudden anger. The green-haired bartender named Shuu stared at her as she walked away, his eyes lingering in places they really shouldn't have.

"Damn." He muttered to himself, shaking his head from side to side, then proceeding to scrub an already-clean glass.

Haruka passed by Kasumi who was just standing in the crowd, biting her painted nails. She had not caught sight of Hikari ever since they walked in, and that worried her. It would have to be tough to come back to the place where she saw her husband commit such violent sin, especially for someone so young.

"Oh shut up man you aren't tough!" A random man said, drawing Kasumi's attention.

"And you are?" Another man replied.

Kasumi caught sight of the confrontation, and saw a man of high stature fighting with another man who wasn't as tall as him, but he was pretty big in height. The smaller man had black spiky hair that went down to his shoulders. The bigger man had long brown hair that went down to his pecs, and he actually looked very daunting.

The smaller man pushed the bigger man, thus, making him push the small guy back. The black-haired man was about to fling into a wall, but Kasumi had run up to the fight and caught him just before he fell.

"Break it up! Leave the fighting to the professionals!" She yelled to the brown-haired man who just sneered at her as he walked away.

"Geesh…are you okay?" She asked the ebony-haired man.

"Yeah man…I'm used to that." He replied, standing upright and scratching the back of his head.

"Well I guess you aren't really welcomed here then, are you?" She asked, putting one hand on her hip.

"Damn man…guess I hadn't thought of that."

Kasumi slightly smiled at this. "You aren't too bright, are you?"

"I guess not."

She slightly giggled. "I'm Kasumi" She stuck out her hand.

"Satoshi. Trust me, I'm a lot tougher than I look. I swear!"

"Don't worry, I believe you."

"…Thanks."

"You're welcome."

A moment of silence, well, a moment of silence between the two occurred. The place was literally jumping from excitement about the fight that was soon to come. She shyly looked down and rubbed her arm, feeling the blush appear on her face.

When she looked back up, she discovered him eying her body up and down; this immediately disgusted her. Not hesitating one bit, she cupped his chin with two fingers, lifted his head up, and with a smile…SMACK!

…Bitch-slapped him right across the face.

"…Pervert." She angrily mumbled before walking off in some direction, leaving the raven-haired man red with embarrassment.

Her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides as she grumbled about men and how degrading they are to women. (A/N I SMELL A FEMINIST!) As she was doing so, she accidentally bumped into a small figure.

"Oh, excuse me…" She involuntarily spoke, looking down at the person.

"…Kasumi?"

The redhead recognized that voice. "Hikari!"

"Kasumi, I'm starting to regret this. This night hasn't exactly been enjoyable for me."

Kasumi frowned. "You're not the only one, kid."

Hikari lightly smiled at this. "Have you seen Haruka?"

"Last time I saw her, she had that swagger going on."

"The, 'I-am-really-pissed-off-swagger-so-if-you-come-within-five-feet-of-me-you-won't-have-any-reproductive-organs', swagger?"

"Yeah. That one."

"HEYYYYYYY BEST FRIENDS!"

Hikari and Kasumi looked over to where the voice came from, and discovered that Haruka placed her arms around both of their shoulders.

"This is nice, isn't it?" The brunette suggested.

"You tell me." Kasumi mumbled.

"I haven't seen Shinji at all…maybe he isn't…you know…fighting tonight." Hikari suggested.

"If he wasn't fighting tonight, why would he drag himself all the way down here?" Haruka questioned, leaning her face a little too close to Hikari's.

Uncomfortable by her current position, the young girl backed away from her boisterous friend, escaping her hold.

"I just don't know guys. Maybe investigating this wasn't such a bright idea. I'm afraid for my life just meddling with what Shinji is _thinking _every day. Perhaps it would be best to just…leave."

"Hikari, no. We're not giving up on you."

Upon hearing this, Hikari jerked her head up, her eyes blurry with memories.

"What…did you say?" She asked.

"I said we're not giving up on you Hikari." Haruka repeated.

_We're not giving up on you…_

_We're…not…giving…up…on…you…_

_**I…AM NOT…GIVING UP…ON YOU…**_

The memories…the incessant memories…

They inundated her mind uninvited.


	5. Morbid yet Memorable

_PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter_

**Chapter 5: Morbid yet Memorable**

_One Year Ago…_

_Our anti-hero, Hikari, at sixteen years old finds herself doing something she never dreamed of doing when concerning the topic of "love." _

_It was odd for her to even be involved in the topic of "love." She found it irrational and in most cases, totally stupid. The requirements for love are so unreasonable, yet so many people believe in it._

_In the teenage girl's mind, falling in love is considered to be the quintessential act in their prime time, when really, it is just messy business._

_One makes the most rational decisions when not in love._

_The man they were to find was to be tall, handsome, and understanding of a woman's methods. Also, he could be caring about her troubled past, and at the same time, be able to make love like an animal. Coincidentally, he was to be the one to take her innocence, but she'd be too drunkenly lovesick to care. _

_However, tonight was just a little different._

_Just a smidgen._

_This man…he was dark. One might say that he was evil, but she did not want to use such a powerful phrase against a person. "Vile" seemed appropriate considering his ways with Pokémon, people…hell, life. She believed it is possible for a human being to be able to express passion in some type of situation, so she remained okay with being around him._

_Maybe not every situation, but at some point._

_Despite his formidable semblance, she was very attracted to him. There was something about the way he spoke…he just sounded so confident, intelligent…but at the same time, humorously modest. It was such an odd characteristic for a seemingly average guy. _

_He was anything but average. In fact, he was just about the exact opposite of her._

_She didn't know why, or how…she just longed to be near him._

_At the current moment, it was twelve o' clock, AKA midnight. The only other member in the household, her infamous mother, was sound asleep in her bedroom. Her daughter tiptoed down the steps to the front door. As surreptitiously as she could, she slowly opened the door, and shut it closed behind her._

_The chilled night air hit her face, and as it did, she took a deep breath. _

_She felt as if she were free._

_But she wasn't…far from it, in fact._

_One might imagine that the life of a coordinator would be a complete dream. However, the competitive side of the aspect is often pushed aside when all the glitz and glamour is made apparent. The face of contests has changed greatly over the past few years, and now, Hikari didn't know how much longer she could keep her mouth shut concerning the subject._

_It was no longer the Pokémon's natural talent to bring beauty to the stage that made the crowd go crazy. Now, it was obligatory for the Pokémon to be caked in make-up, and wear frilly little outfits for the crowd to coo over._

_She was not cooing over such devastating acts, however. _

_Feeling even more pressured, the Grande Festival was almost coming to the close. She had made it into the final four earlier that day, and was scheduled to battle tomorrow. It was not made apparent whom she was battling, but she did not care._

_It just was not the same anymore._

_Now, the Pokémon had to wear their preliminary round outfit during the battles. Some of their movements could not be succeeded with the outfits holding back some of the appendages necessary to successfully complete the move. This bothered Hikari much, and it surprised her that she managed to beat a Combee while Piplup was ridiculously dressed in an outfit similar to her vintage pink frock from three years ago._

_So far, there was only one person she had met that shared similar ideas in the matter; and she was going to meet him right now. _

_She had discovered him in the woods one evening, practicing for the battles in the Sinnoh League, which he later won. His methods with Pokémon were certainly eye opening, but they were also very intriguing. His Pokémon remained faithful to him, and his diligence in achieving a strong set of Pokémon was very evident. _

_He was just…different._

_She liked that._

_As the moon shone over them that one night, to her surprise, he said:_

"_Little Miss Perfect," he speaks in his rough, low voice. "Shouldn't you be dressing your Pokémon up like whores?"_

_She was taken aback by the cynical generalization made by him, but she quickly shrugged it off._

"_I do not care for the current criteria for Pokémon contests. I'm simply in them because I'm pressured to be."_

"_I didn't ask for your opinion."_

"_Well, you got one."_

_He was both irritated and fascinated by her response. Most people wouldn't dare talk back to him in such a sardonic tone. He had to admit, he was a scary looking fellow, and he literally sent people running away from him. This girl looked so…fragile. As if someone were to grab her arm, it would collapse onto the ground in pieces of thin glass._

_It was simply astounding to him; he had to find out where her weak point was._

_**Call it sociopathic if you want; it was simply curiosity from a different type of mind.**_

"_Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" He speaks up, walking slowly towards her._

_He fought back the urge to smirk as she had backed away from him; but he couldn't fight it back when she stepped right back up to be about a foot away from him._

"_Yeah…I guess…" She timidly replied._

"…_Shinji."_

_He stuck out his hand._

"_Hikari…nice to meet you." She accepted his hand and shook it once._

…_That was the beginning of what would seem to be hell for Hikari._

_As she approached the familiar woods, she shook the memories out of her head, and continued walking forward until she was at the place they had first encountered their differentiating states of mind._

_She sits herself on the ground and waited._

_And waited._

_And waited._

_Until, the tall, dark shadow approaches her. She rises to her feet, and purses her lips as she folds her hands together._

"_Why do you want me here?" She quietly asks, not looking at him._

"_Look up."_

_Slowly, she complies, and looks into his dark eyes of sharp intuition._

"_I have a question."_

"…_Yes?"_

"_Why are you such a wimpy little girl?"_

_Her eyes widen. "EXCUSE M—"_

_He interrupts, putting his hand up to stop her. "It's a logical question once you look past the rather mocking tone of the query and contemplate over what you are doing that could possibly be the reasoning for the inquiry itself."_

_Heeding the advice within the statement, she analyzes all of his words, and sighs before giving an ethical, relaxed answer. "I'd do anything for my mom. Since I was so eager to be like her when I was younger, she assumes that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life, and well, I guess she hasn't taken into account that I loved the contests that showcased a Pokémon's natural beauty, not faux beauty."_

_He does not make a physical reaction to her response. However, he was surprised by how…intelligent this girl appeared to be. As a delinquent asshole, he had a habit of assuming aspects of certain occupations. A prostitute was desperate for money, a businessman had no originality, and therefore decided to exploit another's, and a coordinator thrived in aesthetics. _

_That was the way that Shinji's mind worked._

_And this girl was jacking the whole system._

_It pissed him off yet…it intrigued him. So much._

_That pissed him off even more._

"_If I win this Grande Festival, then maybe she'll let me do whatever I please. Once I win the Grande Festival, sure, I'll be famous, but for a terrible reason. For something that I don't want to be famous for. So I might seem like a wimpy little girl, but once I win this stupid thing, I'll finally be a free woman."_

"_You act as if you are completing servitude every day."_

"_It's more so of the concept of being strained to vie for an unworthy accolade."_

_He nods in accord, shocking her once again._

"_Final four now, huh? Well you're coming close to freedom, slave." He mocks._

_She slightly smiles at the dark joke. "Yeah…only a matter of time…"_

"_You have an unethical amount of faith for a such a precarious strategy."_

"_Precarious?"_

"_Undoubtedly. You're goal is to escape these dastardly competitions. Therefore, your battles will not meet the par of the other—so-called—trainers."_

"_I realize this. But if I were to put all my focus onto the goal, which is to escape—"_

"_You'll completely forget about the battle itself, and lose focus. I'm telling you, it won't work. Once you reach the top, you'll never go back down. The rest of your life will be contests, contests, and more contests. Despite this, they will not take your opinion into consideration concerning your desire to change the rules around. So yes, it is very precarious."_

_Again, she takes in his words, and thinks it over for about ten seconds._

"_You need to do something that'll get you away from it, but at the same time, make the situation be known to the public as gaudy and unjust."_

_Slightly annoyed, she looks up at him with an angered, furrowed brow. "If it's so easy, why don't you do it?"_

_He looks back at her with the same amount of irritation. "I'm not in your position. I'm not the perfect little contest princess that has the whole region in love with me. I am not in the position where I can show my true opinion of something I've been practicing against my will for years…"_

_He walks closer to her until their noses are almost touching. _

"_I am not a whiny. Little. Girl."_

_Her face scrunches in fury at the title he has suddenly given to her._

"_You're right. You're not." She replies, not making an attempt to escape the position they were in. "However it sounds to me like you __**want**__ to be me."_

"_HA!" He laughs out loud, throwing his head back, his long purple hair falling in his face. She marvels over the sight of him actually grinning._

_It disappeared as soon as it appeared as he returned to glaring at her._

"_You're just a showgirl. Admit it. You adore the way contests are now. When you started out, all you cared about was the appearance. You didn't care about your Pokémon's well being. In fact, I don't think you cared about the Pokémon part of the contest at all. From what I recall, you only cared about how you looked—"_

"_Wait, wait, wait…how do you know this? I started three years ago. I'm pretty sure we just met a month or so ago." She points out._

"_Let's just say this cynical assface likes to make judgments from a knowledgeable point of view rather than an ignorant one."_

_She sarcastically raises her eyebrows at this. "Or do you just like observing people doing what you want to do?"_

_He growls as she smiles._

"_I bet that's it." She adds, widening her blue eyes for dramatic effect._

_He continues to glare as she opens her mouth again to speak._

"_Let me tell you something. I was thirteen, okay? I had a lot of growing up to do, and sadly, when you're thirteen, you tend to regress back to about eight years old. You're right. I was a very selfish person. I didn't care about anything except how things appeared to be. Now, however, I'm realizing that I conformed into this blasphemous idea that appearances only matter. I am able to analyze my mistakes, and I've have rectified them."_

"_You've done no such thing. You're still in the goddamn business."_

"_It's because I haven't won the Grande Festival you idiot! Haven't you been listening to me?"_

"_I've been hearing you talk out of your ass for about five or so minutes."_

"_EXCUSE M—"_

"_Oh don't 'excuse me'. Stop thinking that you're better than everybody else and figure out a way to do something that will actually make people think."_

_She sniffs back the tears that were about to spill over as he squints his eyes._

"_Are you crying?"_

"_No. I'm not." She defiantly states, stepping back to clear her head._

_He steps towards her again._

"_Don't cry." His drone was not endearing at all. In fact, it sounded more so of a command rather then comfort._

"_I'm not crying." She states, closing her eyes._

"_Do not. Cry." He says in that same tone._

"_I'M NOT CRYING! YOU KNOW WHY?"_

"_Enlighten me, princess." He presses his forehead against hers, trying to intimidate her._

_Even though he succeeded, she kept her chin up._

"_Because whiny little girls cry. And I'm not a whiny little girl." She stares right into his eyes as she says that._

_There is a slight pause. For a moment, she swore she saw a glint of shock in his eyes. However, it quickly disappeared within the blackness._

_To her surprise, he begins to chuckle. Yes, there was a large grin on his face as he backs away a little._

"_I like your fire, kid." _

"_And I like you, jerkface."_

"_Hmph. Cute nickname…little girl." _

_She irately pouts, bringing back the amusement on his face._

_He absolutely adored getting her worked up._

_**Call it sociopathic if you want; it was simply curiosity from a different type of mind.**_

"_You know what? You think you're this big tough guy, but really, you're not. You're just a scared little boy hiding behind your large physique, frightening gaze and intuitive phrases."_

"_Those are some pretty ruthless words coming from a whiny little girl."_

"_HUMPH!" _

_She turns on her heel and starts to strut back to her house._

"_I BID YOU FRICKIN ADIEU, JERKFACE." _

_She hears him chuckling again as she ventures back into civilization. _

"_Hey, hold up a second…"_

_Hesitantly, she stops and turns back to him with a countenance of discontent. He walks up to her with that familiar smirk; her frown deepened._

"_Pretty soon, princess…you're going to have to up the ante a little bit. Open some eyes, drop some jaws…"_

_Her mouth goes ajar when he smoothes his hand against her left cheek._

"_If you don't," his voice drops to a harsh whisper, "you won't get anywhere."_

_As he drops his hand to his side, she stands there, frozen. He smirks at her once before moving past her, slightly bumping into her as he did so. She can barely breathe as she regains her thinking, and turns back to look at the shadow of a man shuffling into the darkness._

"_What…just happened?" She asks herself._

_After about a minute of shock, she finally gets her legs to move herself out of the forest, and back to her house. As she silently skips through her back door and up to her room, she shuts the door, and lets out a sigh as she leans up against it. _

_What an idiosyncratic gentleman he was…_

"_Welcome to the Grande Festival! We are now down to our final four contestants, one of them being the talented offspring of one of the most legendary coordinators out there! What am I blabbering up here for? Let's start the show!"_

_To her relief, her match was second. Shaking, she ties her bow into her long blue tresses, and sighs at the mirror._

_Now for the goddamn make-up. _

_As she applied the eye shadow, mascara, etc., she slowly lost what dignity she had left. _

_No worries…she'd simply showcase the fake dignity she managed to come up with over the years. _

_Sighing, she rises to her feet and releases Piplup from its Pokeball. It looks up at her with its affectionate, black eyes. _

_They were nothing like the eyes of that mystery of a man she conversed with last night…_

"_All right Piplup…you know I hate doing this…but we're going to get out of this. I feel lucky about this year. I think we're finally going to get out of this…blasted business."_

_The penguin Pokémon jumps in the air and cheers at the mirthful words. She smiles and begins to turn her Pokémon into a whole other creature she wish she had not created._

"_The winner of this match…Amayo!"_

_She didn't know who this Amayo was, but the way his Absol was dressed made it look like a 17__th__ century woman. It was just awful, and she could barely look at it. _

_She knew she'd have to get used to seeing it, considering she'd be facing him in the final match._

_Taking a deep breath, she walks out onto the stage when her name is announced by the emcee with one of those annoying, rhyming names with her sisters or lesbian lovers or whatever. _

_Her opponent is a rather short boy who appears to be somewhere around her age. He sported blue jeans and a black casual t-shirt, as well as a black beanie. He threw a Pokeball into the air, and released a Staravia that was dressed in a mock tuxedo and, yes, a mustache painted on its beak._

_When Piplup was released, the points were put on the board, and the battle begun._

"_Staravia! Use Aerial Ace!" Her opponent commanded._

_The bird Pokémon moved slower then it could have toward Piplup._

"_Piplup, jump up!" She cries out._

_Piplup complies, and is above Staravia._

"_Now use Ice Beam!"_

_The way the beam shot down on Staravia sent shards of sparkling ice into the air. Staravia remained in that position for a while, being shocked by the cold temperature of the ice._

_The opponent's points went down about a fourth. Normally, a simple attack like that wouldn't cause such a drop. However, there were three good points about this particular move. First of all, ice attacks are super effective against flying types. Secondly, it hit Staravia dead on. Thirdly, the display of the ice beam was simply stupendous. _

"_Piplup, use Peck!"_

_The audience watched in awe as the small Pokémon's beak nearly tripled in size, and started pecking at Staravia at a speed that could've been faster…without the outfit._

_Her opponent's point went down another fourth. _

"_Staravia better do something otherwise it's going home today!" The emcee announces._

'_Gee, thanks for the sunshine.' Hikari thinks to herself._

"_Staravia, fly into the air!"_

_It took awhile for Staravia to do so, considering it's wings were stuck in that costume. It was so hard for her to watch…she just wanted to run into the middle of that field and rip that wardrobe off of that poor being's body, and let its graceful wings take flight into the air. However, if she were ever get out of this business…it was every "coordinator" for herself. Feeling awful, Hikari takes this as her chance to make another attack on a perfectly capable, yet defenseless Pokémon. _

"_Piplup, use Water Pulse!_

_Still in the air, Piplup gathers water from its beak, and forms it into a swirling tunnel similar to a slinky's shape, and holds it into the air. _

"_Now Piplup, throw that water toward Staravia, jump into it, then use Ice Beam once more!"_

_Piplup follows the command perfectly. It throws the water vortex horizontally so it can fit into the center, and began to spin with the momentum of the Water Pulse. As it did so, the Ice Beam swirled as well, and hit Staravia dead on. _

_Before her opponent's points went down, everyone saw that Staravia was knocked out._

'_Already?' Hikari thinks to herself as her face is shown on the large screen as the winner of the match._

"_The winner of this…rather short match…Hikari of Twinleaf Town!"_

_She hugs Piplup tightly, but not because of the win…_

_No…she was one step closer to finally being out of these stupid contests._

_As the crowd gave a standing ovation to the winners, a tall, looming figure stood at the arena entrance, staring down at the girl in the center, hugging her Pokémon._

"_Decent job, kid," he says to himself, "emphasis on decent."_

"_Excellent job today, Hikari. Excellent. You're timing was absolutely perfect. I mean taking advantage of a Pokémon that was too weak to move? Splendid. Going in for the kill, Hikari. Going in for the kill."_

_Hikari continued to listen to her mother blab about the match with much disdain. She hated hearing about it, because that poor Staravia could not move because it was being held back by a superfluous get up. _

_To be honest, there was only one person she wanted to see right now._

_The sad thing was, he probably didn't want to see her._

_When she finally reached their home, she rushed to her room, absent-mindedly saying, "I'm taking a shower", just so she could get away from her mom's frequent talk of the contests._

_It was as if that was the only thing she was interested in concerning her daughter._

_It was absolutely pathetic._

_After a good cry in her room, she decides to actually take a shower._

_When the water ran down her skin, she felt as if she were washing sin off of her; and it felt good. _

_As she washed the fruity shampoo off her skin, she suddenly began to think of Shinji. She wondered what his reaction would be to her winning such a short match, and getting closer to her dream. _

_Her dream? Burning that Ribbon Cup._

_She twisted the knob in the shower to the OFF position to shut the water off. Delicately, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a white towel around her frame. When she got back to her room, she discovered a neatly folded piece of paper lying in the middle of her bed. Curious, she jogged over while holding her towel up, and sat herself on the edge of the bed while carefully opening the note._

"_Same place tonight. Desperate need to talk. Excuse the break in to your room, but to be honest, there isn't much to take except panties and posters of buff men. One of them sounds good but…whatever you know the deal."_

_She rolls her eyes at the last few lines, but her heart starts pounding in her chest at the thought of seeing him again. A wide grin breaks on her face as she changes into pajama shorts and a fitting tank. Drying her hair out with a towel, she fixes her hair into two long ponytails. Grabbing a cardigan and slipping her fluffy sky blue slippers on, she tells her mother she's going to bed because she was so "tired" from the match, and slips out the window after turning out all the lights._

_How could she have possibly gotten away with that excuse? One could barely call that battle a battle at all…it was more like a confrontation. _

_Oh well. Her mother fell for it, and that's all that mattered._

_Looking back at her house one last time, she dashes off into the forest as the moon shines down amongst the trees and her. As she dodged trees, thoughts went swirling through her head._

'_He never wants to talk…what is this? Why so much talking lately? Why did I ever get involved with this man…he could be dangerous…I mean look at him! He could snap my neck if he wanted to! And sometimes, I think he does…'_

_When she finally reaches their meeting spot, she sits down and waits._

_And waits._

_And waits._

_A rustle is heard in the bushes, making her rise to her feet to see that familiar figure again._

"_What's up?" She calmly asked._

"_When I said up the ante, I didn't mean follow the program, princess." He speaks in a rather irritated tone._

"_I told you, I know what I'm doing." She reassures, walking off a little._

_To her surprise, he starts to follow her._

"_No, no you don't." He says. "You don't know what the hell you're doing. All you're doing is finding some cheap ass way to get out of a situation that you could both easily get out of while bringing the people up to the surface!"_

"_It's not that simple, jerkface." She bitterly replies, starting to walk faster._

_She knew he could catch up with her…the interesting factor was that he was making the effort to._

"_Actually, princess, it is. You just need to break out from this innocent Catholic girl persona who's afraid of having one person hate her, and escape from these people who expect you to be something you don't want to be."_

_She looks over at him with a raised eyebrow; he shrugs._

"_A little preachy for my taste, but it's the truth." He adds._

_Sighing, she stops as they reach a precipice that views the night sky, and purses her lips in thought. He always knew what the right thing to do was it's just that she couldn't do it the way he planned. He was too recalcitrant for her._

_How could she possibly have romantic feelings for him?_

"_Like I said before…it's not as easy as it seems."_

"_Maybe for you, kid. It's simple for people like me."_

"_Oh, really?" She replies, crossing her arms._

"_Trust me. I'll show you how to do things the grown up way. Hopefully, you'll catch the drift and apply it to what you have of a life."_

_This is where she almost snaps. "Do you have to be such an ass about everything?"_

"_Ooh, do you feel rebellious when you use naughty words? The ones mother forbids?"_

"_JUST SHUT UP!"_

_He presses his hands against the air in front of him, motioning for her to shut up herself._

"_All right, all right, calm down kid."_

"_Stop calling me kid."_

"_All right princess."_

"_Stop calling me that too."_

"_All right gorgeous."_

"_And tha—" She stops._

_As she stares at him, he makes no reaction to her shock._

"_What…did you just call me?"_

_Before she could even think, she felt herself being grabbed and pulled against a broad chest. As she looks up, a pair of lips conjoined with her virgin ones and before she knew it…she was in heaven. She melted into the kiss, falling into his strong hold, letting his hands rub up her back and her chest. _

_Not being experienced in this area, all she could do was grip him tightly, and lightly dig her fingernails into his back. Her heart pounded endlessly, and its rate increased when his hand smoothed against her back down to her rear, and gripped tightly._

_The contradicting feelings inundated her mind nearly driving her to UNCONSCIOUSNESS this kiss was so powerful._

_Even though she could barely deliberate in this situation, she was beyond surprised by how sensual he was with her. Most of the time, he was cold and indifferent towards her, but now…it was as if he were a totally different person._

_It didn't matter to her. She was loving every second of it._

_When he broke from her lips, she suddenly felt cold. When he spoke, her attention was completely drawn to him. Her eyes were clouded with newfound emotion, and he could see it. _

_He dreaded that happening, but at the same time, he enjoyed seeing a girl so infatuated with him._

_**Call it sociopathic if you want; it was simply curiosity from a different type of mind.**_

"_Stop being a love struck teen. You know what I said."_

_She gulps, not knowing what to say. _

_He was quite the straightforward guy…but she loved that._

_She loved everything about him but at the same time, she despised them._

_It was an indecipherable feeling, but at the same time, irrepressible. All she knew was that she couldn't let somebody with that much of an impact on her get away._

_Never._

_She just wished she had the guts to pull through with it._

"_So—"_

_Before he could finish his sentence, he felt warm, soft lips on his, affectionately kissing him with an emotion he could not decipher. The emotion that flowed from her developed in the pit of his chest simultaneously._

_He didn't know what the hell it was, but it scared him. It really, really did._

_He also was not sure why he had kissed her in the first place, but he knew something…_

_It felt really, really good._

_He had never kissed someone with such…passion. The thing was, it was raw passion, not exaggerated, mushy passion. Staring at the striking young girl for so long had secretly drove him crazy and well, he just couldn't take it anymore._

_Pretty soon, he found himself responding to her kiss, and it wasn't long before he realized just what the hell was going on._

_He was…in lo—infatuated with her. Yes._

_Infatuated._

_When he pulled away from her, she had that same look in her eye. Now they twinkled with love, actual love. _

_He actually recognized it._

"_**You know I wanna tell you something but I can't…"**__ He suddenly says._

"_**Oh come on, you can tell me." She egged him on, poking his shoulder.**_

_**With a small smile, he said:**_

"_**I love you."**_

_**She gasped.**_

_She takes a step closer to him, and touches her nose to his._

"_**Do you mean it?" She incredulously asked.**_

"_**I'm a man of my word, kid." He assured her.**_

_**She had still been uncertain, but knew that she had never doubted him before. She certainly wouldn't doubt him in this situation. She flashed him one of her trademark smiles, but he did not smile back.**_

_**She continued to smile; that was just the way Shinji was. Looks certainly weren't deceiving…**_

"_Welcome, ladies and gentlemen…to the final round of the Grande Festival! I bet you're all as excited as I am when I say that today, we will find our Grande Festival champion in a short while! Let us bring out our contestants so we can get this show on the road!"_

_Backstage, Hikari is sitting on the floor, hugging her knees. She is dressed in simple blue skinny jeans and a sleeveless blue button-up with frills that bordered the line the buttons went up. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, two strands of blue framing her face. She looked down at the Pokeball that contained Piplup, but she was not pondering about the life-changing match that was in the near future._

_The only thing flowing through her mind were those two electrifying kisses that she experienced last night. She didn't have the slightest clue on how she was going to put her focus on finally being free._

_As she sat there, she started thinking about what Shinji has said to her in the past two days. Winning the Grande Festival and leaving the contest world for good was pretty dicey, and it wasn't a guaranteed triumph. For all she knew, she would be exploited more and more as only a coordinator in this slipshod, bungled world of Pokémon._

_If she were to expose the contests as abuse to Pokémon, perhaps she'd finally be free from it for good. It was an absolute certainty, and she could count on it._

_He was right. He was absolutely right. _

_But she couldn't do anything about it now…she might as well follow through with her plan. But now, her plan now appeared to be substandard to his, and it was there that she knew she was bound to do this forever, and she might as well just accept it._

"_Now please welcome, his opponent, Hikari!"_

"_That's us Piplup…let's go out with a bang. Forever." She says to the Pokeball containing Piplup as she walked to the stage. Upon entrance, the crowd screamed, and began chanting her name. _

"_Absol, let's go!"_

_The 17__th__ century woman-Absol emerged from its Pokeball, and its deep voice did not correlate with its current wardrobe._

"_Piplup, spotlight!" She yelled out with fake happiness._

_Piplup also feigned cheerfulness as it appeared on the field._

"_All right, let's go! Let's find our champion!"_

_The points appeared on the board, and the match begun._

"_Absol, use Razor Wind!"_

_The white, powdered wig on Absol's head made it difficult for the Razor Wind to charge up, and Hikari knew that it wouldn't be nearly as strong as normal Razor Wind. As Absol desperately tried to release the attack, she began to make her move._

"_Piplup, use Bubble!"_

_She knew that the Bubble would inflict little damage, but it would break the concentration that Absol had built up. When the bubbles annoyingly popped in Absol's face, Hikari made her move._

"_Piplup, use Peck!"_

_With that large beak in play, Absol had no chance of escaping that move. Bubbles were still popping in its face, and a majority of them popped as Piplup's beak collided with Absol's face, body, and said bubbles._

_The wig fell onto the ground, strands of counterfeit hair sticking out from Piplup's attack._

_As Absol lie on the ground, Hikari stared at the wig. Right then and there, she could've stopped the battle, and went to go pick that wig up. Then, she could start her speech on why contests such as these are wrong. It was right there in front of her…_

…_But she thought of her next move as her opponent's points went down a third._

"_Ooh! Part of Absol's costume came off! That's minus a little more points!"_

_Now, Amayo, her opponent, only had half of his points left. Hikari made a mental note to spit in that emcee's face for saying that a garment that Absol shouldn't even have on fell off caused point deduction._

"_Absol use Flash!" _

"_Piplup use Waterfall!"_

_As the flash emitted from the ebony pendant on Absol's forehead, Piplup began building up the water from its beak to form a funnel of sparkling water. _

"_Okay Piplup, now throw that Waterfall—"_

_The attack that Hikari knew would seal the deal was disrupted by a very powerful Frenzy Plant rising from the ground, and sending both Piplup and Absol into the air. Water from Piplup's Waterfall fell right over Hikari, and she could do nothing but stand there, upset and absolutely furious._

_What in God's name was HE doing THERE?_

_As the Flash diminished, every person in the room gasped at whom they saw. The Sinnoh League champion stood there, his hefty Torterra beside him, bringing this "battle" to a halt._

"_Who knew that Piplup could learn Frenzy Plant!" The emcee says, writing the definition of what a moron was at that moment._

_Shinji takes one large step toward the emcee, grabs her microphone before she can run, and speaks into it._

"_Take a look at the large grass and ground Pokémon right beside me, dumbass."_

_Keeping the microphone tightly clenched in his large hand, he walks over to Amayo, and holds his hand out. Not knowing what to do, Amayo just stands there, shaking with actual fear._

_The whole crowd fell into a deep silence as soon as Shinji's presence was made known, and continued to keep quiet. _

_He was usually the patient type, but at a moment like this, he didn't feel like waiting for these idiots to come about a revelation of what he was asking for. Not being subtle, he reaches into Amayo's jacket pocket, and retrieves a Pokeball. He turns toward the injured Absol and returns it to its Pokeball._

"_Go back to the Pokémon Center, and take that atrocious outfit off of your Pokémon, and treat it as if it were your own child. In this world, they pretty much are, except they can't tell you how they feel. So, the best thing to do is treat it with as much care as you can."_

_Amayo stares bug-eyed at the man._

"_I might be scary-looking, man, but I do have an idea of what compassion is. I might not express it, but I know what it is. Now go."_

_Since Shinji did not speak into the microphone, so Hikari, nor did anybody else except Amayo know what he said. She didn't really care what he was saying to her opponent, she was just wondering what he was doing there, ruining her chances of getting out of the contest world._

_What an unruly jerkface._

_After he gets his Pokeball back from the Sinnoh League champion, Amayo runs off the stage, his destination, the Pokémon Center. After glancing at his Torterra, he abruptly turns around to meet gazes with the prodigy of contest's child._

_The girl he, perhaps, loved?_

_The way he looked at her made her heart pound in her chest, but not in the good way. He did not look amused in the slightest. In fact, he looked ready to kill her. She understood why he'd be annoyed with her, but she didn't understand why he'd appear to be hostile._

_He swiftly walks over to her, and she hands him her Pokeball without any say. He returns Piplup to it, and hands it back to her._

_She is about to go to the Pokémon Center and bring her Pokémon back, but he clamps his hand down on her shoulder, making her jump._

"_Hang tight, princess. I figure you need a lesson in educating people about common sense." He whispers to her, holding the microphone as far away from them as possible._

_She curtly nods as he makes his way to the middle of the arena, bringing her along by the hand. He keeps a tight hold on her hand as he begins speaking._

"_Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. How are you today?" He asks._

_The whole arena remains silent, but he nods to himself, a smirk developing on his face. _

"_That's good." He sarcastically responds. "As for me, I'm just slightly pissed off. Just slightly. Do you wanna know what I'm pissed off at?"_

_Again, the crowd does not respond at all. During this interrogation, the emcee is standing there, feeling ultimately powerless without her microphone. If she had it, she'd be yelling her head off at this man, despite him being a phenomenal trainer, to get off the stage and continue the Grande Festival as if this whole thing didn't occur._

_However, this was not possible…obviously. The emcee still maintained hope for some outlandish reason. But she knew the person in the driver's seat as of now wasn't going to relinquish it anytime soon._

"_I'm pissed off at all of YOU. Every one of you." He announces, having every person in that arena in the palm of his hand. "The endorsement of dressing Pokémon up like whores is absolutely unjust, and for that, I hold no respect for anybody in here today. Especially the person that could've put a stop to it years ago. She has the strength, but she's too afraid of losing all of your love for her. Who is she? Well, I'm holding her delicate little hand right now."_

_She feels as if her brain is disconnected from her entire body. There was nothing she could say to that statement, and the fact that Shinji wanted her to speak up now was just wrong. True, she wanted to, but not after being insulted._

"_Your little princess here HATES these contests. She despises them."_

_The silence breaks as chatter rises from the crowd, bringing the tears to Hikari's eyes. She looks over to where her mother is sitting, and that's when the tears spilled over. Her mother was staring daggers at the two, and she looked ready to have a heart attack. Not being able to contain the sight, she looks up at Shinji._

"_Maybe now would be a good time tell people how you really feel about these contests, princess." He says into the microphone before handing it to her. _

_She shoots him a look of turbulence, practically afraid for her life as of now. _

_He makes no response, but just shoves the microphone right in front of her face._

_Slowly, she gingerly takes it into her hand, and stares at it for a long while before looking up at Shinji._

_He ambiguously nods toward the microphone, as if telling her what to say._

_What could she say? That she hated the contests that she has done for years, and she was in love with this man? How could she announce that to these unsuspecting people?_

_Despite her doubts, she raises the microphone up to her mouth, and opens her mouth to speak._

"_I…" She begins, looking into the crowd._

_Every face read shock and appall at the recent coming about. She knew that she has been lying to all of her fans, and it killed her inside to know that all of these people would soon lose faith in her as a person. _

_She didn't feel like a person, though. The only thing she felt like was…_

…_A whiny little girl._

"…_He's right. This man beside me is absolutely right. He has every right to be angry with all of us for patronizing a business that has just gone awry these past few years. I remember a time where contests marveled over the true beauty of a Pokémon's attacks…not how 'cute' it'll look with make-up all over its face and in costumes made for yip-yip dogs. I just didn't have the guts to tell all of you people in the beginning that you shouldn't be supporting this business. I can't tolerate it any longer, and I'm glad that Shinji has finally made me come to my senses. People, please. Hear me out. We shouldn't thrive purely on how things appear anymore. There are people that have great things to say, but don't appear to, and we just shrug them off. Is that right? I don't think so. If that's right, then I don't know what is. All I know is that I want this business to either end, or make a complete 360. I just can't take it any longer."_

_When she ends her speech, the crowd stares at the two for a while, taking in her words. Hikari sort of smiled to herself, feeling fantastic now that she has her true opinion out in the world._

_Then, the first cry was made._

_It was a cry that Hikari is bound to never disregard in her life._

"_YOU'RE A LIAR!" _

_Hikari's head snapped up to the arena seats, trying to find the culprit who spoke those words. Just as she did, another spoke out:_

"_YOU'RE A FAKE AND A LIAR! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE ON THE STAGE!"_

_The tears came more and more as more yells of scorn erupted from the crowd._

"_GET OFF THE STAGE! NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE!"_

"_GO RUN OFF WITH YOUR EVIL DOER!"_

"_YOU'RE A LIAR! PISS OFF YOU LYING BITCH!"_

"_HOW COULD YOU LIE TO US? WHY DON'T YOU GO DIE, HIKARI?"_

_For Hikari to hear all of these potentially innocuous people to be utilizing such odious phrases to depict her was unconditionally agonizing. All she could see was irritation and antagonism on the faces of every human being she saw, and knew of in her life. At that moment, she saw her sanity from what she had of a mental state slowly diminish into nothing._

_Zilch. Nix. Zero._

_Not knowing what else to do, she seeks safety in Shinji's chest, concealing herself from the unpleasant imagery. He welcomes her there with open arms, and takes the microphone in his hands._

"_WHY DON'T YOU ALL PISS OFF YOU LOW LIVES? AT LEAST WE KNOW WHAT COMMON SENSE IS! YOU'RE ALL ABUSING YOUR POKEMON, AND YOU KNOW IT!" He screams out, making Hikari snuggle closer to him for security. She squeezes her eyes close as much as she could, hoping that if she did said act, all of the hostility would disappear, and she'd be free from all of this bedlam and dissidence._

_To her dismay, the only place that existed that spoke of such delicacies was heaven._

"_YOU'D KNOW WHAT ABUSE IS YOU JACKASS!" Someone replies to Shinji's shout._

"_I SUGGEST YOU ALL GO DO SOMETHING GOOD WITH YOUR LIVES AND NOT PRAISE ON THE WHORES OF TELEVISION!" _

_He starts to make his exit with Hikari before a new voice is heard._

"_Take your dirty hands off of my daughter you son of a bitch."_

_He turns his head toward Hikari's mother who is shaking with rage._

"_Let go of her. Right now." She speaks in a low, threatening voice. _

_To Hikari's surprise, Shinji complies, and lightly pushes her away from him. As more boos ring out from the throng, Hikari collapses onto the ground, and buries her face into her hands, sobbing her pretty little heart out._

"_I'm not as vile as you think, old hag." He says to her, brusquely throwing the microphone down onto the ground. _

_She did the same. "Oh, I beg to differ. I advise you never go near my daughter again, or so help me God, I will tear you apart."_

"_Huh. Really." He replies in a hardhearted tone._

"_Yes." She replies._

_Without a single trace of fear, she walks past Shinji and over to Hikari._

"_Hikari. Look at me."_

_The blunette continues to cry._

"_LOOK AT ME HIKARI."_

"_MOM I'M SORRY!" She cries out, looking up._

_The look in her eyes seemed to say that she was looking at death itself, begging for its mercy._

_There was no mercy, as one would imagine._

"_Oh, you better be. You have totally disobeyed my trust. Who is this person? Why are you involved with him? What has he told you?"_

"_Mom…I'M SO SORRY!"_

"_That's not the answer I'm looking for. TELL ME."_

_Hikari remains silent, minus her sobs._

"_Fine. Give me Piplup."_

"_WHAT? MOM—"_

"_GIVE ME PIPLUP RIGHT NOW!"_

_Not knowing what else to do, Hikari reaches into her jeans pocket, and pulls out the Pokeball containing one of her best friends. Her mother grabs it and puts it into her pocket._

"_You will never be able to see your Pokémon again. You hear me?"_

_Before Hikari could answer, a large pop echoes through the arena; a gunshot. She involuntarily covers her face and forms a turtle shell shape, considering how close it sounded. Hikari looks up and sees her mother lying on the ground, motionless. The crowd is now out of their seats, and running frantically, trying to find the exit. As she is staring at Shinji, another gunshot is heard._

_She swore she saw Shinji move his arm up toward her mother, as if he were actually…_

_Another gunshot is heard as Shinji comes to his senses, and realizes that Hikari is lying defenseless on the ground. Completely forgetting her mother he dashes over to her, and sees she is completely worn out from the latter of the day. He returns Torterra to its Pokeball, and picks her up bridal style, and goes to the one place no one would dare look for them._

_Can you guess?_

_As he lays her down on the grass, he starts to lightly slap her across the face, trying to wake her up._

"_Hey, hey kid. Wake up. Little Miss Perfect, WAKE UP."_

_She opens her eyes to see Shinji looming protectively over her._

"_My mother…OH MY GOD MY MOTHER!" She remembers the gunshots and her mother's lifeless body, and shoots up, nearly missing a collision with Shinji's forehead._

"_I'm sorry kid." He says, showing just a bit of sadness._

"_Wha—?...No…NO…NO! NO!" She cries out, more tears flooding down her face. _

"_Hikari…Hikari please…" He attempts to comfort, sitting back on his heels to hold her against his chest._

_She continued to sob, "NO! NO! NO!" over and over again, as if she were reliving the experience over and over again._

_He nestles his hands in her hair, trying to console her._

"_Hey, princess. You've got to listen to me for a moment. Just a moment."_

_Sniffing back more tears, her red puffy eyes look up at his face._

_He did not show a smidgen of poignancy at the sight._

"_What you did just now…that was exactly how I planned it to go down. Minus the gun of course. I have no idea where that came from. You weren't honestly expecting people to agree with you, right?"_

_Her eyes widen at him, as if he were some sort of maniac. Of COURSE she was expecting them to agree! It was common sense after all! _

"_Hikari, this is the real world. There is always going to be disparity between others, and well, with devoted fans such as those…" He says, seeing the incredulous look on her face._

"_Shinji…MY MOTHER WAS JUST SHOT." She says._

"_I know kid. I know."_

"_HOW CAN YOU NOT BE UPSET AT ALL?" She loudly asks, curiously leaning closer to his face, as if the answer were right there._

"_Look, princess—"_

"_YOU SHOT MY MOTHER YOU BASTARD!"_

_She rises to her feet and backs away from him, scared out of her wits. This man was much more dangerous then she thought._

"_WHAT?" He yells back, insulted by her accusation._

"_YOU SHOT MY MOTHER!"_

"_I DID NO SUCH THING."_

"_THE HELL YOU DIDN'T!"_

"_Hikari, I swear. I would never take somebody's life."_

"_BUT YOU WANTED THE CONTESTS TO END! AND YOU KNEW THAT SHE WAS THE CENTER OF ALL MY SUFFERING!"_

"_Then WHY are you so upset?"_

"_SHE WAS MY MOTHER YOU JERK!"_

_Before he could say another word, she drops to the ground and sobs once more._

"_NO! NO! NOT MOM! PLEASE NO! OH GOD NO!" She screams out. _

_Before he knew it, he was angry again. Thankfully, this was the type of anger that he could manage. He wanted her to know that despite the fact he hated her mother to death, he would never kill her._

"_Hikari. It was a gun that killed her. I DON'T HAVE A GUN. Do you see a gun on me?"_

_She looks up to see him stripping of his jacket and shirt to reveal a toned chest, but no gun._

"_HOW COULD I HAVE SHOT HER IF I DON'T HAVE A FRICKIN GUN?"_

"_YOU COULD'VE LEFT IT THERE!"_

"_Hikari. When you kill someone, the best thing to do is not leave it there."_

"_HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?"_

"_That's just common sense, princess..."_

"_WELL I'M SORRY, I CAN'T REALLY THINK RIGHT NOW!"_

_Sighing he goes over to her and bends down to her level._

"_Princess. Look at me."_

_As she complies, he takes her face in his hands, and looks right into her eyes with those coal orbs of integrity._

"_I would never try to upset you like that Hikari. Ever. I might be a cynical asshole, but I would never try to hurt you like that. Please. Believe. Me."_

_He conjoins their lips once, and stares back at her, expecting some sort of succumbing to the truth. To his fortune, he sees that familiar spark in her eye, and a look of guilt passes on her face._

"_I'm sorry Shinji. I just don't know what to think." She says, sitting up on her knees._

"_Hikari. Listen to me."_

_She looks up at him as he takes her hands and pauses before speaking. When he finally does, those piercing eyes look graver then they ever have before._

"_What we just did? There is absolutely no turning back. You can't go back to that fairy tale land of people enjoying your presence and bowing down before you. As much as you hated it then, you'll have to adapt to it not happening ever again. Now, you'll be glared at. Now, you'll have to deal with death threats, and maybe even isolation. But know this…"_

_She nods along with what he is saying._

"_You are finally free. You don't have to fake happiness anymore, nor dress your Pokémon up like whores anymore."_

_For the first time in his life, Shinji was wrong. She did not feel free, she felt trapped. Her happiness level has dropped even more, seeing as how her mother was just shot, and she did not have her Pokémon anymore._

"_Despite all the people in this region, __**I am not giving up on you." **__He says._

_She denies all of her fears once he said that. She still had him, and that's all that mattered to her right now. Nodding, she smiles at him, and kisses him with all the passion she has been holding back for him ever since he stepped into that arena to back up her cause._

_Still in that protective stance, he looms over her once more, not breaking the kiss while doing so._

_As two new lovers now rejected by a whole region proclaimed their love for one another, chaos still carried on in Sinnoh._

_This chaos would continue until about nine o' clock that same evening. _

Right now, you're probably asking yourself, _"Im-A-Horror-Freak is leaving an author's note? She's leaving an author's note for the people who read her stories that she so lazily updates? For the people who have remained strangely diligent in checking up to see if she has updated, when most of the time, she hasn't?"_

Huh. What're the odds?

Anyways, on this rare occasion, I am posting this author's note to say WOWWEEEEWOOO this was much longer than I thought it was going to be! Then again, most nostalgic chapters last awhile, considering the rush of emotions and thoughts on the event…ah well. I wouldn't know. I haven't been in a situation anywhere close to our friend Hikari's.

Speaking of which, I'm surprised by the positive reviews this story has received! As for me, this plot has pretty much been impromptu for me. That isn't exactly an intelligent aspect to reveal, but I must, considering I am a novice storyteller.

I realize the day I'm posting this is July 31, 2011. To my misfortune, the dreaded school, or as I like to put it, the death of creativity, is starting in about a month.

Whoop a dee frickin doo.

The reason I'm bringing this doleful event to your attention is because it takes up much of my time. My school is almost an hour away from where I live, and on top of that, I've got soccer practice after for about two hours, and when I get on the bus home, it's about 5:30. Once I finally reach home, it's almost seven, considering I have to drive home (( well, my mom has to drive me )) from my bus stop back to my house.

Wait, what do you care? All you're doing is reading my stories! Jeez! For a moment there, I thought I had a friend!

Huh. What're the odds?

Now for the part you guys actually care about…

This author's note doubles for both _I Don't Want A Fighter, _and _S is for Slaughter._ Due to my lack of time in the coming month, updates will be even slower then they have before.

Shocking, right?

Well, it's the truth.

I'm posting chapters for both stories today, and hopefully they'll hold you over until one of my breaks finally comes and I can begin working on them again.

I love these stories, and I adore the feedback I've received. I had doubted that people would enjoy stories that are written in a rather sardonic manner.

Well, I'm gonna stop yapping now and go back to my lovely vacation in a location that I am not going to tell you!

Stalkers. Gotta love em.

If I actually had them.

Is that a good thing?

Huh. Depends on the person.

STOP TALKING IM-A-HORROR-FREAK!

OKAY OKAY JEEZ! I'M GONNA GO WATCH HALLOWEEN!

HAVE FUN!

DAHHHHHHHHHOKAY!

With that bit of schizophrenia, I leave you to a long period of time of no updating.

~Im-A-Horror-Freak

(( 3's Nathan Jonas Jordison ))


	6. Allegedly Average, yet Anomalous Agenda

_PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter_

**Chapter 6: Allegedly Average, yet Anomalous Agenda**

Sapphire eyes opened to see dull, golden sunshine shine through the two windows in the room she once shared with somebody.

Somebody who she decided she didn't know anymore.

Quietly yawning, she throws her legs over the side of the bed and stretched her arms over her head, the faint cracking sound sending a feeling of relaxation over her body. 'Twould be the only sensation of relaxation she knew she'd feel for a long time to come.

The taste of Lady Grey tea hinted on her taste buds, so she rises to her feet, stretching one last time before heading into the kitchen. Turning the knob on the stovetop to ignite the flames over the steel kettle, she casually opens the top cabinet door to fetch one of those gray splattered mugs, the sugar jar, the honey bottle, a spoon, and one single bag of Lady Grey.

Gently, she dumped three spoonfuls of sugar into the mug, squirted one drop of honey, and placed the teabag into the cup, preparing it for when the teakettle would reach it's boiling point.

Literally.

As she waited for the water to boil, she opens the fridge and pulls out the carton of milk, and takes a whiff of it, hoping to smell a fresh, healthy aroma instead of a chunky, foul funk. To her relief, the milk was potable, but she decided she'd run down to the store and buy another carton, since this one was reaching its end.

She glances back at the teakettle to see a small puff of smoke beginning to rise from the spout, meaning it was heated up, but not boiling. Wanting to pass more time, she heads to the antipode of the kitchen and opens a cabinet door containing small snacks she'd munch on while doing the laundry, filling out taxes, et cetera, et cetera.

To her fortune, she saw there was one chocolate covered biscotti left in the gold and brown box. Picking it up with delicate fingers, she retrieves the perfectly wrapped breakfast delight, and goes back over to the stove.

The teakettle was still in the pre-boiling stage; Hikari became slightly more annoyed.

Just as she was about to go make the bed, the familiar squeal rang through her ears, and with that, she instantly turned back to the stove and switched the burner off. Before pouring the tea, she grabbed an oven mitt and slid it over her hand, and gripped the searing handle of the kettle. Flicking the spout's lid off, she poured the boiling water into the cup until it was about 7/8 full. Setting the kettle back onto the burner for it to cool off, she dips the teabag in and out of the mug until enough of the flavor has resided into the cup to her satisfaction. Squeezing any liquid that could've made its way into the bag, she threw it into the sink to deal with later. Then, she clutches the carton of milk, and pours about an eighth of a cup of the white silky substance into the cup until the mixture in it turns to a cloudy shade of brown.

She smiles as she puts the milk back into the refrigerator.

It was about time that kettle had started to boil.

Grasping the mug's handle, she brought it over to the table in the middle of the kitchen, along with the biscotti and set herself down in a chair.

The sound of a plastic wrapper being opened reverberates throughout the compact space, as well as one single chomp.

It was sweet, but then disappeared amongst the hard surface of the biscotti itself.

In the silence of the house, a young girl is seen sipping her tea once, closing her eyes, smiling…then taking yet another sip.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

It pleased her.

* * *

By mid afternoon, the bed has been made, the kitchen has been cleaned from breakfast, and now, Hikari is seen taking the laundry (solitarily her laundry) and bringing it down to the basement where the washer and the dryer was.

"Damn."

She had just discovered that she was out of Era, and, as one would imagine, without Era, there was no point in doing laundry. Dropping the basket down to the floor, she looks up at the ceiling and sighs.

It was time for a trip to the store.

Leaving the basket down there, she runs upstairs to go see if she had any cash on her.

"_Four twenty bills. That should do it." _She thinks to herself.

Sticking them into her pocket, not caring if they became crumbled or not, she walks out the door into the warm, afternoon air. The sun was now high in the sky, and it brought light down upon the many people in Veilstone City. Despite its usual busy atmosphere, it seemed as though the whole town was empty.

Thinking it would provide her with the peace and quiet she loved, she starts walking down the road.

Her mind ponders on nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Well, except Era and that carton of milk.

Now that she was on that topic, she figured that maybe she should get some fabric softener…just in case. She had absent-mindedly forgotten to check that as well, and since she was out of Era, she most likely was out of fabric softener.

Decisions, decisions.

Being the cautious type, she decides on getting the fabric softener. It made logical sense, didn't it?

To her it did.

Stepping into the store, she sees that the store itself is barely occupied. The monotonous music generally played in supermarkets drew on in the background as the rolling of metal carts and idle chat of the occupants of the city was heard. Picking up a green shopping basket, she heads over to the chilled area of the store first where milk, cheese and cream were held.

Once she reached the milk section, she picked up a carton of Miltank milk that was labeled "MooMoo Milk". After staring at it for a few seconds, she gently puts it back onto its display, and reaches for the store brand of the milk instead, and places it into the basket that hung from her forearm.

Now for the Era.

Turning on her heel, she rushes toward the detergent/cleaning supply aisle, and after seeing no one lingered in it, she walked down to where the laundry detergent was, and luck be a lady tonight, she saw one large container of Era left.

As if her life depended on it, she grabbed it and put it into her basket. With one last look around, she started heading towards the self check-out.

"_Oh! The fabric softener!"_

Mentally slapping herself she heads back to where the detergent was, and picked up a container of fabric softener that promised with one use, one's clothes would smell like crisp apples.

"_That sounds lovely." _

Now with the fabric softener in her basket, she goes to the self check-out, and scans the three items over the black bar as if she were professional at it.

"Total: $ 15.64. Cash or check?"

She presses the "cash" button as she reached for one twenty dollar bill.

"Please insert cash into slot below screen."

She follows the machine's requests, and receives four dollars and forty-six cents back.

"Thank you for your purchase."

Responding to an automaton seemed foolish to her, so she takes the blue plastic bag containing her items, and returns the basket to where she had obtained it.

The walk home was nothing but peace and quiet.

* * *

The sound of the washing machine tossing and turning her clothes while being soaked in the newly-bought Era and fabric softener was good for her to hear. When she had gotten downstairs, she had discovered that she was also low on fabric softener, so getting it at the store was a smart move.

Now as the thought of cleaning ran through her head, she figured she should wash her bed sheets after this first load.

As she is walking back to the living room, a thought comes into her head:

"_I should've gotten a box of biscotti…damn." _

Since she had eaten the last one this morning, you know, it'd be nice to have another box for tomorrow morning. Shrugging it off, she figured she could've gotten more when she went over to Kasumi's tonight when they'd go out tonight.

Bing! Bing! Bing!

This ringing signified that the washer has completed its cycle, so she jogs down the basement to put the damp clothing into the dryer, and put the sheets in.

Except, she had forgotten the sheets.

"_Wow. I'm not exactly on top of things today."_

She goes back upstairs and pulls the light blue sheets and the black quilt off of the king-sized bed and carries them downstairs. She poured the blue liquid over the sheets and quilt after they were carefully placed into the washer. Then, she poured the green liquid into the center where a small hole was, then just a quarter cup of water.

Closing the lid, she sets the setting onto medium fabric, which would go for about a half an hour. After that, she turned the dryer on so her clothes would be dryer and wrinkle free.

After pulling the lever that started it up, she sighs and trudges up the stairs, being overwhelmed with fatigue out of the blue.

She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was already three o' clock.

Just three more hours until prince charming would arrive on the scene.

Pretty soon, six o' clock came sooner then she would have preferred. She made sure she was out of his way when he'd walk through the door and head for the shower to wash off whatever the hell had gotten on him that day.

She felt herself jump as the door slammed a little louder then it had before. Heavy footsteps thudded against the hardwood floor. Turning back to the sink to clean a dish that already was spotless, she felt her heart race at an unhealthy rate as the footsteps had stopped right where the entrance to the kitchen was.

She could feel his gaze stab into her back as she continued to scrub that piece of china. She didn't know if she was going paranoid or not, but she could feel distrust on so many levels staring at her through dark eyes.

Just as she let out a deep breath, the footsteps continued toward the bathroom, and in a few minutes, the sound of the shower emanated from that very location. Being quick on her feet, she rushes out the back door after slipping a pair of sneakers on, and shuts the door as quietly as she could.

It's not like he was paying attention though.

So she thought.

* * *

"Let's move ladies! Let's move!"

Haruka's voice moved quickly and loudly through Kasumi's compact, two-story home. Hikari had quickly taken out the black dress that dipped too low for her taste and slipped into it as fast as she could.

"Hikari, sweetie, your boob is practically sticking out." Haruka points out, sticking her finger in the direction of Hikari's bust.

As her face turns red, she swivels around and fixes her bra so there was nothing showing. Turning back around to Haruka, the brunette gives her thumbs up, and Hikari curtly nods before running on her tiptoes over to the make up.

"I can't find my other flat, have any of you guys seen it?" Kasumi asks, holding one of her bow flats up.

Hikari hears a THUNK! As a shoe collided into Kasumi's face, via Haruka.

"Jesus Haruka!"

"What? You asked for the shoe, not how you'd like it delivered to you."

Hikari slightly smirked at this as she finished highlighting the black-gray eye shadow by smearing the snow-white powdery substance on her eyebrow ridge.

"So, are you going to flirt it up with that bartender that I simply cannot tolerate?" Kasumi questions.

As Haruka applied her lip gloss and rubbed her lips together, she answered: "I don't care if he is an arrogant jerk…that guy is HOT."

Kasumi laughs as she answers. "You…are so pathetic."

"If it concerns a hot guy, I don't care."

"Pathetic."

"Deprived."

"Hikari you ready yet?"

As she slips on her left heel that nearly broke her ankle last night, she nods.

"Yeah, I'm good to go."

"All right, let's go."

Being smart this time, they took a car, and Hikari decided to take a jacket with her so she could avoid any lewd looks from the men. The drive was just as long as they had remembered it…a bit too soon for our blue-haired beauty.

Isi was there again, and of course, with Hikari as a type of cheat code, they got in with no confrontations. A little scared of this man, Hikari hangs onto Kasumi, being as far away from him as possible.

Still, she received that same promiscuous countenance from him as they entered the muggy, darkened building. This time, the three stayed together, and decided to head over to the bar so they could begin the process of blending in.

To Haruka's fortune, Shuu was the bartender of the night; again.

"Hey sly dog." She greets, winking at him as her two friends sit on either side of her.

"Hey sexy." He responds, winking right back at her. "Can I get a beer for you three lovely ladies?"

Kasumi feels her gorge rise from the vocabulary this man was using, whereas Hikari was simply zoning out.

"Two beers for me and my redhead, a Coke for this young lady." Haruka orders, resting her hand on Hikari's thin shoulder.

Shuu raises a supercilious eyebrow at Hikari, making the girl blush.

"No beer for you tonight, honey?" He asks, leaning down to look her straight in the eye.

"I…uh…no." Hikari answers, backing away a little.

"Aww, why not?"

"I don't drink."

"You mean you're not old enough?"

Her eyes widen. "N-no—"

"Save it gorgeous. Besides, I've seen girls in here even younger then yourself. Just know something…in here…_everything _is legal."

Hikari takes in his words, but still refuses to order the alcoholic substance.

"Your loss. So two beers and a Coke?"

"Yes sir!" Haruka confirms, still gazing at the man as if he were a god.

"Coming up!"

As he turns their back toward them, the three start to converse with one another.

"When do you think we'll see prince charming, Hikari?" Haruka asks.

She simply shrugs and starts to play with a strand of her hair.

"You shouldn't be so eager. One day, he might actually see one of us." Kasumi points out.

"Nonsense. He won't recognize any of us."

"Just be on your guard, okay?"

"Kasumi…since when am I on my guard?"

"Barely ever."

"Meaning?"

"I'm wasting my breath."

"Pretty much!"

"Don't try to make me feel like you, Haruka."

"What? Awesome?"

"No, moronic."

A deep chuckle attracts their attention, and all three are not amused to see it is the bartender eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Nice one redhead." He comments.

"Excuse me, cabbage head, but the name is Kasumi."

"And my name is Shuu. How about you address people as their regular name instead of regressing into immaturity?"

"Huh. Believe me, sometimes I wonder if it's this one who's making me lose my mind." Rolling her eyes, she sticks her thumb in Haruka's direction.

"I hope you mean Michiko over here." Haruka says, pointing to Hikari.

"If you mean me, you're terribly mistaken."

"I love my job…" Shuu comments to himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen…are you ready to rrrrrrumble?"

A loud cheer rises from the crowd, drawing the attention of the four people at the bar.

"Who's fighting tonight?" Haruka asks.

"Shinji the Slaughterer and a guy named Satoshi Suckerpunch."

"Satoshi?" Kasumi questions, remembering that name from somewhere…

"Yeah. What a stupid ring name, right?"

"Oh, totally." Haruka immediately agrees.

"Then, may I introduce…Satoshi Suckerpunch!"

The man that Kasumi had met stepped into the ring, appearing much more threatening then she remembered him being. He must've been hiding all of that muscle behind his long-sleeved jacket and baggy jeans from before. Now, there were lean muscles that accented his body and a pair of baggy red shorts.

"And his opponent…Shinji the Slaughterer!"

Hikari had to turn away when she saw the brawny man that was her husband step into the ring, wearing the baggy black shorts he always wore when he fought; those, and that formidable countenance that would threaten anybody.

"Man, I'm gonna take you down!" Satoshi tries to threaten.

Shinji does not respond.

"You know why?"

"Enlighten me." He speaks.

The three did not hear what Satoshi's reasoning was, but they presumed it was some dumb, bullshit reason.

It sure stirred Shinji up though. He tackled the guy before the bell even rung, exciting the crowd even more.

"What is he doing, guys?" Hikari quietly asked, still refusing to look at the fight.

"Beating the hell out of that guy." Haruka simply comments.

"Is that it?"

"Well, Satoshi Suckerpunch is sure getting bloody out there."

"Guys…I…"

"You wanna leave?" Kasumi asked.

Hikari nodded and got to her feet, along with Kasumi. As they turn to leave, they realize that they were missing a member of their incognito group.

"Hey…uhh…HANA. GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE." Kasumi yells out, drawing her attention.

"Kasumi…" Hikari comments.

The tall young woman looks down at her friend, and smiles an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, dear." She says, resting her hand on the shoulder.

"It's okay…"

"You leaving already?" Shuu asks as he takes the glass her beer was in.

"Yeah…" She says, rising to her feet.

"I'll be thinking about you." He winks at her.

"Yeah. I bet you will."

She turns around and struts back to her friends, making sure she caught his eye as she did so.

Oh boy, did she.

They all walk out as quickly as they could, hiding Hikari from anybody's view, just in case Shinji caught sight of them.

They shuffled into the car and Kasumi started the ignition as fast as she could, and soon, they were on the road home.

"Why do we even keep going to these things?" Hikari asks the two from the backseat, as if she were his child.

"Hikari…just…" Kasumi began, but did not finish.

"I can't bear seeing someone I thought I knew act like someone else…or worse…having become someone else."

The rest of the trip was quiet, and Hikari didn't like it.

She wanted an explanation as to why they continued bringing her to those things.

Then again, she was complying with no argumentation whatsoever…

Similar to the car ride, the undressing of their second lives was silent. Even Haruka was not as verbose as she usually was.

Even though it was odd, Hikari enjoyed the peace.

If she could call it that, of course.

"Get home safely." Kasumi says as Hikari walks out the door in her blue denim skinny jeans and dark purple v-neck.

"I will, thanks guys…" She says, not meaning that gratification at all.

Turning on her heel, she walks home at a rather quick pace, assuming that someone was watching her as she did so.

No one was.

That night, as she lay in bed, the final thought that ran through her head was this:

"_I never asked Kasumi for another box of biscotti…I guess I'll have to ask her tomorrow."_

* * *

The fight had ended about a half an hour ago. Shinji the Slaughterer was the winner, of course, leaving Satoshi SuckMyDick or whatever his name was a bloody mess.

"You better watch what you say, jackass." Shinji mumbles to his opponent as he goes to the backroom to take another shower.

The black-haired man spit blood out of his mouth, one of his teeth coincidentally following it.

"Damn it all to hell. Anything I do is wrong." He mutters to himself.

Shinji emerges from the backroom in his black baggy pants, black mock military boots, and black/purple coat covering his frame.

He decides to get a beer before he leaves, and thankfully, Shuu the arrogant airhead was still there.

"Get me a beer, man." He orders to the green-haired man.

"On the house, man." He replies, slamming a bottle down on the table.

Without saying thanks, Shinji grips the bottle and chugged half of it down.

This match wore him out a little too much…perhaps he should learn to control his anger…

…Nah.

"Man, you should've seen these three chicks tonight." Shuu begins to converse, slightly drawing the purple-haired man's attention.

"Hmm." He replies.

"The brunette…wow what a body on her. Man, you should've seen her."

"I bet she satisfied your perverted state of mind."

"Definitely. Her redhead friend, I forget her name…she was treating this brunette like her bitch man! Aww…good times man…good times…"

"I bet."

"Then there was her other friend…"

"Man, I don't care. At all." Shinji finally snaps, not looking at him.

"Oh yes you do man. You might be as asexual as a politician, but—"

"Man, don't even go there. I'm a lot more then you think."

"Whatever man…so anyway this friend…"

Shuu leans down against the surface of the bar like he was in ecstasy or something.

"She was…daaaammnnnn…she was as hot as fire man."

"Yup…"

"The blue hair was enough of a turn on, but—"

Shinji felt his eyes widen just a little at the mention of blue hair. However, he kept himself calm, and continued to interrogate this man a little more to see if he was talking about the blue hair he was thinking about.

_His _blue hair.

"Blue hair, huh?" He continues.

Shuu raises an eyebrow. "Oh, now you wanna talk?"

"I'm simply making conversation. Apparently you adore hearing the sound of your own voice, so please, continue, for your benefit."

"With pleasure my man."

He grabs a beer for himself as that grin continued to show on his face.

Shinji didn't like that. At all.

"So this blue-haired chick…I think her name was Michiko…sometimes names just describe their owners so well, y'know? Anyway, this dress she was wearing certainly accentuated the perfect little body she had."

"Continue."

"Sure, it was low, but it's just the way her jugs looked—"

"Anything else besides her breasts, you pig?"

"If I'm a pig, I'm the show winner, my friend." He says, holding his hands out as if he were preaching to his people.

Shinji most certainly wasn't part of any group that Shuu had, or dreamed of having.

"I asked her if she wanted a beer, and in the cutest little voice she said, 'I don't drink', when, really, she's only like what, eighteen?"

"_Seventeen." _He thinks to himself.

"Her eyes looked so innocent. It was as if ordering a beer was committing murder to her—"

"Murder, eh?"

"Yeah man. She was so innocent…God I'd love to be the man who'd take her."

He felt the grip he had on his beer tauten at Shuu's comment. He still maintained that pacifying, yet simultaneously threatening presence.

"I bet you've done that a lot." He comments, taking one swig.

"Yeah, but still man. She was a hot little thing. It seemed as if you did so much as rub her back or her tits, she'd break, y'know?"

Shinji quietly grunted at this.

"…What did you say her friends looked like again?" He asks, closing his eyes, trying to imagine the annoying two girls who stepped up to help Hikari move through the life they had decided to live together.

"One was a redhead, and the hot brunette."

His eyes open as wide as they could, and they read only one emotion:

Anger.

Rising to his feet slowly, he closes his eyes, and says, "I just remembered I have something to do."

As he turns around, he feels his teeth bear and as the rage continued to inundate his mind, he threw the bottle to the other side of the room, causing it to break into a million pieces instantly.

"_So naïve, that girl." _He thinks to himself as he briskly walks down the street.

"That guy needs to get the stick out of his ass." Shuu comments to himself.

"_He's one helluva fighter though."_


	7. Rampaging Revelations

PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter

**Chapter 7: Rampaging Revelations**

Later the next day, Hikari had received a call from Kasumi, requesting her presence at her house as soon as she could. Not knowing what to expect, Hikari slipped on a pair of jean shorts, a black tank top and tennis shoes. She didn't even bother fixing her hair, for there was no one in the public who'd care.

This was a fact.

After ringing the doorbell, Kasumi appeared with Haruka right behind her, not looking pleased.

"Haruka, what's wrong?" Hikari immediately asked after Kasumi let her in.

"It's too damn early in the morning to do this." She responded, sluggishly walking over to the couch and plunging onto it.

"Anyway…what's up Kasumi?"

"Okay. Hikari, Haruka and I were talking—"

"Oh before you start, do you have any biscotti? I ran out yesterday and I haven't gotten to go to the store." Hikari interjected.

"Uh, no Hikari sorry."

"Oh…well, go ahead."

Kasumi motioned toward the couch, and Hikari complied, delicately placing herself next to the sprawled out Haruka.

"Yes, well Haruka and I were talking when you left last night, and I think it's smart for us to not go down to the fight club tonight…or ever again."

Hikari was instantly confused. "It was your guys' idea though!"

"Right, but aren't you afraid that Shinji is going to find out? He isn't stupid y'know!" Kasumi retorted.

"I need to find out why he's doing this though…it's enough that he's doing this, but I need to know why he went in this direction."

"Well it's not like we've advanced ever since we found the club." Haruka pointed out, her eyes fluttering.

Hikari glanced at her, eyes wide with disappointment. She felt as if the last two people that consistently cared about her well-being were about to give up on her. As of now, that was the last thing she wanted, because the person she thoroughly believed in loving her was not doing anything that these two young ladies have in the past few weeks. Feeling overwhelmed, she placed her hand against her forehead, feeling a small headache coming about.

Kasumi stood up and walked closer to Hikari, trying to keep the conversation calm.

"Have you ever thought that, don't hate me for this, but…maybe he's doing it because he likes to hurt people?

"NO THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Hikari immediately exclaimed, turning around and clenching her fists, "THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

"Hikari…" Kasumi began.

"That's not who he is he must be doing it for a reason!" Hikari rises to her feet and begins to pace. "Guys, please. We need to keep doing this until I know exactly why he's doing this. Then I can talk to him about it, and we can sort something out—"

"HIKARI!" Haruka suddenly exclaims. "OPEN YOUR EYES!"

Hikari turns back to the brunette who was on her feet as well.

"What? Haruka—"

"Your 'husband' is the definition of brute. He is an emotionless sack who wants nothing more than to feel powerful. First, he won the Sinnoh League, so of course, he wants more power. He does so by beating the SHIT out of those people down at the club. Not only is he powerful down there, but he has power over YOU, Hikari. He's making you think that he loves you, and that you loving him is what will get you through. This is the real FUCKING world, Hikari. You need to do real work to get by, and that involves appeasement and negotiation; not going around and beating people up behind your spouse's back. That dumbass doesn't love you, Hikari. He's holding you back. He's holding you back from success, and regaining your reputation after HE ruined it."

Hikari and Kasumi stood there in absolute shock. Haruka was heaving at this point, a fire burning in her eyes.

"Somebody had to tell you sooner or later. We've been trying to help you become your old self again Hikari, and going down to see your so-called 'love' fight people isn't helping. It's just bringing you down even more. What happened to the happy girl whose only love was the joy of Pokemon coordinating? I'll tell you what. She was fucking KILLED by that…that MONSTER! Hikari, I'm begging you…leave him. It'll do you good."

"Haruka, don't you think you're being a little rough—"

"No Kasumi, I really don't." Haruka interrupted. "She wants to be an adult, well, this is real life. You need to find the best way to get by. This isn't high school where the bad boy surprisingly sweeps you off your feet. This is where the bad MAN leads you down the wrong path. Before you know it, you'll be sucked into the dark world of trafficking and whatnot."

"…Haruka…" Hikari whispered, tears beginning to form in her royal blue eyes.

Haruka walked over to Hikari and embraced her tightly. "I don't want to lose my friend. She's the greatest I've had in a long while."

Hikari broke down at that moment. "I'm so sorry…"

Kasumi joined the embrace as Hikari continued on.

"It's just that when Shinji and I had run off from the arena, it seemed…it seemed as if he was the only one that still cared for me. I wanted to latch onto that care as soon as possible, so I guess I just don't want to let him go because he was the first one to never let me go…"

"We're your friends, sweetheart…" Kasumi began, "we'll always be there for you."

"You're the only friends I have…"

"We can change that." Haruka said. "We can totally revitalize your reputation."

"How can we do that?"

"We can't do that overnight dear. It'll take a lot of time." Kasumi pointed out.

"Oh…"

"But the first step is to get far away from Shinji."

Hikari looked up at both of them. "I…I don't know guys…"

"The first step is always the hardest, love."

"You guys don't understand…" Hikari stepped away from them and walked to the window, having discovered that it had started to rain. "When I first met Shinji, I was rapt in the superficial world of contests. I had almost been sucked into a materialistic point of view forever, but I met him and he totally snapped me out of it."

"Yeah, but look how your protest came about thanks to him. There are other ways to protest against something you're against." Kasumi pointed out.

"What's most important to me is that he was able to snap me out of it. I had known all along it was wrong but…"

"Hikari, you're just confused. I know that sounds incredibly cliché, but damn it, it's the truth." Haruka said. "This situation is so convoluted I'm surprised you haven't given up yet."

"I haven't given up yet because I have hoped that some day it'll all work out." Hikari continued to stare out the window, watching the rain fall down.

"You need to work though Hikari. These situations don't just work themselves out." Kasumi said.

"I know which is why I need to figure out what Shinji is doing and talk with him about it. He'll listen I swear!"

"How do you know Hikari? How do you know?" Haruka asked.

"He…he loves me…" Hikari mumbled.

"Does he really? Or are you just convincing yourself that he does?" Kasumi probed, moving closer to the young girl.

Haruka followed suit while Hikari looked down at her feet.

"You guys are my best friends." Hikari commented.

Haruka and Kasumi smiled at this, looking at one another for a second.

She turned around. "But I know what's in my heart. This is one of those things where I need to trust my instincts. He told me that we needed to stick out for one another, and that's what I'm going to do. I appreciate all that you guys have done, but this is in my hands now."

Not knowing what to say to that, Haruka and Kasumi exchanged glances for awhile before looking back at the seventeen-year old beauty. The looks on their faces were indecipherable; either they were giving in or giving up.

The silence drew on too long for our impatient Hikari, so she rushed out into the downpour, slamming the door shut behind her; Kasumi flinched.

"…Where do you suppose she's going?" Haruka asked.

"Hopefully she's just getting biscotti." Kasumi replied, looking at the door.

"…Do you suppose I was a bit rough on her?" Haruka asked.

"Well sure Haruka you were but…somebody has to be direct with her for once. She's just a kid after all…a kid stuck in this ill spoken situation that'll take maybe a year to get out of. The first thing she needs to do is get away from that bastard…then she'll start being herself again."

"I hope you're right…I don't like what she's becoming…it's like she's an empty vessel, y'know?"

"Yeah, would you like some tea?"

"Yeah sure."

The two start making their way to the kitchen when they hear two knocks on the door.

"HIKARI!" They both exclaim running to the door and ripping it open.

As lightning struck the sky, there stood Tall, Dark and Dangerous, dripping wet in a tank top and cargos. His coal eyes glowed with irrepressible anger as he stared at them.

The two girls could not help it; they screamed out at the sight and immediately flinched back, holding onto one another.

"Where. Is. She." He slowly asked, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Brown and blue eyes dilated in fear at the sight of him. A dark aura seemed to come off of his figure as he slowly made his way into the house.

"We-We don't know." Haruka finally spit out.

"You must know. You're the only two people she'd be with. Now, where. Is. She." He

."We told you…we don't know. She was just here, but she just ran off a minute ago. I swear to you." Kasumi tried to calmly state.

"You're going to help me find her." He stated, grabbing Haruka's arm with no hesitation.

"What makes you say that?" Haruka protested in annoyance, somehow being able to yank her arm away from him.

Slowly, he turned to look at them both, intimidating them immediately. He advances toward them, and looks them both straight in the eye.

"Because you two are the one who encouraged her to go out and grandstand herself in attire fit for a _whore. _You turned her into a sneaky little Delilah when she never should've been venturing into it in the first place. _That's _why you're helping me." He stated.

Kasumi and Haruka exchanged glances that asked, _"how did he find out?"_

Haruka's initial thought was that horny bartender, but she couldn't dwell on the thought for too long; Shinji's gaze of disgust was too powerful to abstain from.

"How could she have not been curious? She was concerned for your well-being, Shinji. She wanted to help you, because she loves you. For some odd reason, that girl"—Kasumi pointed at the door—"loves you like no other. Can't you understand that?"

Shinji stared at her for a couple seconds, taking in her words. Of course Hikari loved him; he knew she did right after he had kissed her for the first time. The look in her eyes made it so obvious; he loved that look. He hadn't seen it in a long time either.

He began thinking of her in that setting, with all those men prowling their eyes over her delicate little being; the thought made his gorge rise, as well as his anger. He clenched his fists and shut his eyes closed for a minute, trying to rid of those thoughts, but they kept pouring into his mind in handfuls.

Overcome with rage, he bolted out the door and slammed it shut without one more word to the frightened young women who stood trembling after the encounter.

* * *

She wanted her biscotti; so she was going to get it, damn it. Thankfully, the store was open for at least ten more minutes, so she could run in, get a box for the following morning and quickly walk home. The rain wasn't a hindrance for her at all; it was pacifying. She took her time, sporting a little twirl every now and then, even jumping in a dainty puddle. At that time, she did whatever she could to bring a smile to her face.

Because she knew nobody else would for a long time.

When she reached her home, lightning lit up the sky, as well as a tall dark figure that watched from afar as she entered. He didn't wait long after to go up to the house.

When she entered the home, it was dark and cold. She flipped the light switch but soon discovered that the electricity had gone off.

"Oh shit." She mumbled, making her way to the bedroom to get her outfit ready for the fight that night. Well, if it was still on that is. Either way, she'd find a way to go.

Trying to be surreptitious, he quietly closed the door and made his way to the bedroom, his anger increasing with each step. When he reaches the doorway, he just stares at her, watching her fiddle with the dress that bartender was eye humping her in. He almost lost it when he saw her hold it against her body and model it.

Actually, he did lose it.

"You're dead, princess." He muttered, drawing her attention.

She quickly flips around and backs herself up against the closet. "Shinji! You're home early!"

"Cut the shit Hikari. I know all about your little whore antics."

"…What-What whore antics? Shin-Shinji…you look tired may-maybe you should…"

"LIKE HELL I'M GOING TO SLEEP."

He slapped her hard and fast on both sides of her face. She fell to the ground, at his mercy.

"Why the HELL were you down there? I oughta kill you RIGHT NOW." He bent down to her level and violently cupped her chin.

She couldn't catch her breath; her heart was beating too fast. Between the stinging on her face and the ache in her chest, she couldn't make up words.

"You little bitch." He muttered into her ear. "You shouldn't be snooping around down there…especially in that…that get-up!"

She swallowed the sore lump in her throat, trying to hold back the tears. A small sob escaped from her mouth as he touched his forehead to hers.

"You will _never _go down to the club again. GOT IT?" He questioned, looking her straight in the eye.

Hikari looked into those eyes, and saw they were harder than rock, more indestructible than lead. There lingered no type of emotion, no concern for anybody; especially her. His teeth were bared as if he were a rabid animal, waiting to leap on his prey. She was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and at some point, she'd have to show him she wasn't some whiny little girl, or a lovesick little girl.

She was Hikari; just plain, loving Hikari.

He opened his mouth to yell at her again, but instead, felt a huge sting on his left cheek that made him fall onto his back.

"WHAT THE HELL?" He yells at her, hoping to kill her with his stare.

"Why do you do this to me? Why, Shinji?" She started asking, rising to her feet.

"Do what?" He rose to his feet as well, rubbing the side of his cheek.

"What do you mean 'what'? I mean you going out all day, coming back for maybe ten minutes, not saying a single word to me…"

Shinji did not mumble a word.

"Then I find out you're illegally FIGHTING? Why didn't you tell me? I'm your FUCKING WIFE!"

She does not flinch back when he clenches his fists; even if he did punch her, she wouldn't care. This had been on her chest long enough and she needed to relieve it on someone; even if that particular someone didn't care.

"Why do you fight Shinji? Why?" She asks, throwing her hands up in the air.

Shinji remains silent.

"Shinji?...SHINJI I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

"I can't tell you."

"Why the FUCK not?"

"I…I just can't, all right? Stay out of my business."

She could not believe the audacity this man had. She was literally unable to comprehend why he was doing this to her.

"You know, you think you're so great Shinji. You're such a rogue, even though you won the Sinnoh League, and you managed to turn little ol' me into one of your Manchurian candidates, and even worse, your wife. But you want to know something? I was doing just fine until you came along. I was SO CLOSE to winning that ribbon cup, and finally being free from contests, but you just had to turn it into a huge histrionic event. At first I thought that it was good, and that you actually cared about me and were going to stick with me forever but now I realize, _you don't care. _All you care about is keeping that dark persona, scaring people…all that stupid shit. Worst of all, Shinji"—she gets in his face—"I thought you loved me."

He just stared at her, not making a single reaction to her speech.

"I'll make your life easier by just leaving."

She turns on her heel, and stomps out of the room, screaming to him:

"_**I WILL NEVER LOVE YOU AGAIN!"**_

* * *

_**Cliffy! **_

Y'all hate me, I know ;)

Anyways do you guys know I'm alive? Let's have a parade! :D

...POKEMON PARADE.

Okay so I just got my own laptop, meaning that I''ll be able to update these stories more often, yaaaay! So, I'm gonna start up on my abandoned stories such as this one, _**S is for Slaughter,** _and a couple oneshots here and there. I have a new idea for a **Pokeshipping **oneshot for all you Pokeshipping fanatics!

I haven't thought of a title yet, but I view Ash and Misty as that couple that'll last forever, so it's all about the revitalizing of young love in its own antique way. We'll see how it turns out.

I have great plot ideas, but ruin them almost immediately with my writing ^^;

Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter! This one is gonna end soon...it might have, like, 10 chapters? Maybe. I need to end one of these soon because **_S is for Slaughter_ **I plan to have 26 chapters...Hopefully I can draw it out long enough. :D

~Im-A-Horror-Freak


	8. Finally, A Familiar Face

PokeContestIkariStory: I Don't Want A Fighter

**Chapter 8 – Finally…A Familiar Face**

Shinji wasn't far behind his distraught spouse. He took one stride, and grabbed her shoulder, violently turning her to face him. However, when he did so, she spit a wad of mucus in the middle of his face, and continued making her way to the door. Wiping it away, he continued after her, an indecipherable passion fueling him to do so.

In reality, Hikari was afraid for her life. Sure, she had to say this to Shinji sooner or later, but now didn't exactly seem appropriate. In the end, she knew she'd be glad she said it, but hopefully the end of this turmoil was near, because she certainly wasn't sated with his reaction.

It was just another person to add to the list of Hikari Haters, as they labeled themselves.

"Kid, wait—"

"I'M NOT A FUCKING KID!" She yelled at him, her eyes wild with adrenaline. "I'm your FUCKING. WIFE, SHINJI."

As she expected, he didn't respond.

"I don't think you realize just how much turmoil I go through every day, Shinji. I mean, here I am STUCK with you after you totally annihilate my reputation in the contest world, AND the world in general. Every time I go somewhere, there is something muttering under their breath, 'there's that bitch', or 'there's the crazy lady; I'm surprised she's alive'. I can't take it anymore! I'm only seventeen!"

"And yet, you decide to marry me; big, scary, twenty-one year old me." He responded in an icy tone, walking closer to her.

She involuntarily backed up. "I had no choice."

"Like hell you didn't have a choice." He clenched his fists.

"You think I did, but I DIDN'T! My mom was MURDERED that day! And you…"

"I what?"

There was a bit of silence as she looked down at the ground.

The realization hit him. "You STILL think I did that?"

She remained silent.

"Look princess, I—"

She slapped him again. "Don't 'princess' me. I'm not your princess! I'm not ANYTHING of yours!"

He snapped his head back into place, and shoved her hard onto the ground.

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" He peered down at her.

She sobbed twice and looked up at him. When he squinted to look at her face, he saw a bruise on each side of her face

He tried his best to ignore them.

"You say you aren't associated with me, yet here you are, married to me, and fighting with me. Now, if that's not a connection, then I don't know what is."

"STOP BEING SUCH A CYNICAL ASSHOLE AND _LISTEN TO ME!" _She started to cry again.

He glared down at her, waiting for her to speak.

"You promised me you'd make me happy. You also promised that we would get through this together. And what do I get? SQUAT! Actually no, let me rephrase…" She slowly rose to her feet. "I got unending sadness, and loneliness. You're never here to support me through this mess, and that's why we're still in it! What makes you think FIGHTING is going to help? It doesn't prove anything either. It doesn't prove you're strong, and it certainly doesn't prove you love me."

Again, there was silence. In his head, Shinji was deliberating on whether or not to tell her. It'd be risking a lot to tell her, but he couldn't let this whole ordeal continue; it had gone on too long. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, and he was reaching his breaking point.

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"PLEASE Shinji. I just need to know why you're doing this. So I can know before I leave." She said with a sigh.

His head snapped up. "NO!" He involuntarily spoke.

She looked up at him, the tears staining her face. "I have to. You're not helping me, you're holding me back!"

"From what?"

"FROM REGAINING A LIFE! Haven't you been listening to me?"

He didn't respond.

"SHINJI, I—Look, I'm just…I'm just sick of this! I can't do this anymore, all right? I need to start working on making my reputation tolerable again, okay? And being with you isn't going to help."

"You are not leaving." He said, or commanded, rather.

"Oh yeah? How're you going to stop me?"

Hikari turned around and started walking towards the door, and the fervid feeling of whateveritwas began to boil inside him. Not seeming to care whether or not he was hurting her, he grabbed her arm, dragged her to "their" room, and pushed her in, closing and locking the door behind them.

He couldn't take it anymore. Seeing her on the ground like that, sobbing her heart out…it was just like the night after the Grande Festival that one year. When he turned around to look at her, he saw she was sitting on the bed, crying, and lightly touching the bruises that had developed on her face. He decided to stay by the door, in case she was going to make a run for it.

"Shinji…please let me leave." She spoke in a low tone, looking at the ground. "I don't want to do this anymore…I just…I wanna go home…"

"Hikari, you don't have a home…this is the closest place to a home you've got."

"Yeah, well, I want another one." She said, rubbing her cheeks, the saddest expression in the world on her face.

He watched her for a long while. He observed whenever she'd shake with sobs, or just sit there, twiddling with a strand of her beautiful blue hair. She was just a kid after all, and not knowing what was going on with his life, or her own life had to be hard at such an immature state. He didn't want to bring that up though, because he was sure she was sick of hearing that.

"Shinji…please let me leave…I'll never bother you again. I'll live with Kasumi, and we can totally forget about this whole…marriage or whatever it is. You don't ever have to help me again…please, just let me go. It'll be good for both of us."

With circumspect, he walked over, and stood in front of her. It took awhile for her to make eye contact, and when she did, he almost broke down himself. Her face glowed with tears, and her eyes shone with heartbreak. Her hands were shaking slightly, and her lips quivered endlessly. The bruises became darker and darker with every passing second, and he began regretting ever having touched her like that.

Then, he took her hand in his.

She gasped, and swallowed a sob as she looked into his eyes, and no longer saw cold, black orbs. There was that familiar glint, the same one she saw after the whole fiasco at the Grande Festival. It was the same glint when he had told her that they were going to get through this predicament together. Only she could feel that in this moment, he was generally concerned for her. Her mouth went slightly agape when he began to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You know I can take a lot of things, kid. I can take punches to the face, slaps, even spit…but I can't bear the thought of you thinking I don't want to help you."

He took her other hand, and raised her to her feet. Now her eyes shown with pleasant confusion as his eyes returned to his normal apathetic state.

"Kid, **I love you**."

Her jaw dropped. _"Did he just…he just said he…" _she hastily thought to herself.

"And I told you I'm not giving up on you." Even though these words were rare for him to say, they were still in that deep, monotonous tone.

Hikari didn't care though. It meant the world to her that he would say this to her.

"You know I'm a man of my word, princess."

"…Shin—"

Without any warning, he started pulling her into the bathroom.

"Shinji…I…"

He didn't respond as he flipped on the light, and sat himself down on the side of the bathtub, and sat her next to him. Grabbing a washcloth, he turned on the hot bathwater, and soaked it for a couple seconds, wrung it out a little, and held it against one side of her face. She lightly gasped at the heat at first, but eventually melted into it, closing her eyes. He wrapped his arm around her dainty waist, and pulled her closer. She involuntarily rested her head against the junction between his shoulder and chest. He rested the side of his face against the top of her head, continuing to hold the washcloth against her bruise.

"I uh…kid?" He spoke up.

"Yes…" she uttered under her breath.

"I'm uh…I'm sorry for the bruises…something just came over me…"

She didn't respond.

"You know kid…this whole time, well…" He quietly began.

She opened her eyes, and looked up at him. The look in her eyes told him that she wanted to know what was going on. This was the first time he'd seen her at such peace since he brought her into all of this, so explaining now would be difficult.

"…I'll explain later. I need to do this first."

After about five minutes of silence, he switched sides, and rubbed his fingers against the first side.

"How do you know what to do…?" She whispered, not opening her eyes.

"When you fight, you tend to get bruises a lot, princess."

She tried to shrug that off, not wanting to think about that.

For the longest time, this was the Shinji she wanted to bring to the surface. She knew about this side of him for the longest time, and no one else did, which she thought was a shame. It came out at the most sporadic of times, true, but they were the times when someone could see Shinji had a heart. He did, in fact, have a heart, and this was a great resemblance of that fact.

He threw the washcloth back into the tub, turned the bathwater off, and proceeded to pick her up into his arms. She was suddenly overcome with fatigue, and went limp in his hold. She could see that the sky was still a malicious dark gray, and rain still pummeled down onto the ground. There was no thunder and lightning though, to her relief.

Pulling back the covers, he gently placed her on the bed, and pulled the sheets back over her frame. He could still feel her shake from the emotional undergoing they previously went through. After her head delicately fell onto the pillow, he grabbed a chair, and placed it right next to her. Sitting himself in it again, he crouched over, and folded his hands together.

"If you're too tired, I can wait until tomorrow to explain—"

"No, I've waited long enough. Just tell me."

He covered his face with his hands for a brief second, sighed, and looked at her.

"Believe it or not, I've been protecting you this whole time." He began. "It all started at the Grande Festival, right before that final match…"

* * *

_One year ago…_

_Tall, dark and handsome stood at the top entrance of the contest hall, his arms crossed, watching Hikari battle her little heart out. He smirked as he heard her command in that little scratchy voice of hers. It was adorable yes, but today was an important day. He was finally going to help her get out of this God-forsaken contest world, and into a better living. It didn't matter if it was with him or not, just so long as she was happy with her life. _

_He realized awhile ago that he was in love with her, for he'd never go to such limits for one person, even for his own personal benefit. The only thing he knew about love was that if she's happy, then you're happy. _

_He hasn't been happy in awhile, and he felt it when she was happy the slightest moment last night. _

_Overcome with boredom, he began to look out at the crowd, and became disgusted at how interested and into it they were. They obviously couldn't see that the Pokemon were struggling to compete in outfits like that. The desire for artificial aesthetic had gone awry, and he knew just what to do. _

_His eyes soon caught sight of someone. Except, what made this someone so sketchy was that they were wearing a hockey mask, all black, and in his right hand was a revolver. Shinji's eyes widened; he immediately began thinking of Hikari's safety on that open field. There was no security nearby, and he knew she wouldn't have time to run away. It looked like a 6-shot. That guy would get her in no time._

_Not unless he could stop it._

* * *

"I didn't know who he was going after...but all I could think about was whether or not you were safe…so…that's why I went down there."

Hikari turned the other way, the thought of her mother's death bringing tears back into her eyes.

"I…soon saw the guy behind your mother…and well, all I could think about was you, princess."

She brought her fists up to her face, shutting her eyes closed. He postulated from her body language that she was trying to hold back tears, and he wouldn't expect any less. Bringing this up wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, but he had to. It was for her own good, after all.

"I didn't want to endanger anybody else by releasing his location, so I just kept quiet, and tried to get you as far away from him as possible, while keeping the people entranced…but when you were giving your Pokeball to your mother, I…I saw him raise the gun and I panicked. Soon, I lost track of you, and didn't give a rat's ass if I got shot, I just needed to find you…I hadn't realized your mother was shot until after I got you out of the arena…it…it was just pure coincidence the people started yelling at you…"

"So what does this have to with the fighting…" Hikari quietly asked, still not looking at him.

Shinji looked over at her, then back down at the ground.

"Kid…it's real risky for me to be telling you this."

She didn't respond. Sighing, he rose to his feet, and took off his shoes, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. He lifted the covers and slid next to her, hoping to gain her attention.

"I'm protecting you, princess." He said right next to her ear, making her turn around to make eye contact with the man she felt for the first time was her husband.

"How are you protecting me? You're leaving me here all by myself…" She spoke in a choked voice.

"No, no…" he rubbed the bruise again; she flinched.

"Shinji…how could you possibly be protecting me?" Her voice rose.

He brought one of his fingers to her lips to shush her.

"I could tell by the way that guy was eying the stage, he was aiming for you. Hikari, I knew from that point that I had to get you away from the contest world because he'd be able to track you easier. That's why I was being so…I don't know…dictator-like with my 'speech', if I may."

She stared at him in absolute shock. "He wanted me…not my mother…"

"Getting you away from the contest world wasn't enough…I had to make sure you were fully protected…"

* * *

_Shinji ventured into a police station, looking for someone to talk to. He sought after the first guy he saw, and stopped him in his tracks._

"_Hello, may I help you?" The man asked._

"_Yes. I need protection."_

"_Well, sir…I think you'd best find that at the drug store."_

_A couple of men listening in chuckled at the joke as Shinji mentally rolled his eyes._

"_No, I'm being serious. My wife and I need protection from someone."_

"…_Yes, well follow me sir."_

_Shinji quickly followed the man into a cubicle, and sat himself down in the chair opposing the desk._

"_Name please."_

"_Shinji Honkuro."_

"_Your wife's name?"_

"_Hikari Honkuro." _

"_Address?" _

"_52 Friendship Lane."_

"_Situation?"_

_Shinji hesitated a little, not knowing this man's perception on the event. Of course, they were far away from where it occurred, but it was nothing short of a national tragedy._

"_Well, I'd rather not go into details, but my wife was in a situation where a gunman was aiming for her, but accidently got her mother…so…"_

_The man stopped writing and eyed Shinji for a second. There was a mysterious glint in his eyes as he continued to look at the plum-haired man. _

"_It's you!" The man finally yelled out._

'Fantastic.' _Shinji thought to himself. _

"_You're the Sinnoh League champion who went off with the contest girl prodigy!" _

"_Yes, now if you don't mind sir—"_

"_GET OUT!"_

* * *

"I had no other choice but to offer any type of service to get you protection since the police were so prejudiced…" Shinji continued.

Hikari had moved closer to him, becoming more and more intrigued, and weirdly satisfied with the story.

"That's when I met Hikaru…"

* * *

_Shinji had grown tired of posting offers online, outside stores, on telephone poles, etc.,. It was almost at the point where he'd have to protect Hikari himself. He knew he couldn't do that though, for she'd become suspicious…he just had to keep on looking._

_Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Good afternoon sir!" _

_Shinji spun around to face a small man in a business suit and dark sunglasses. He had a toothy white grin implanted on his face, and looked a little too pleased to see Shinji._

"_Can I…help you?" Shinji incredulously asked._

"_Why yes you can!"_

_The man started to eye Shinji's upper body a little too closely. The man was thankful that Shinji was wearing a tank top and cargo shorts, for he could get a better look at him._

"_Ah yes…very lean, very muscular…great legs too!"_

_The level of awkwardness was unbearable for Shinji, so he had to speak up. "Sir…may I ask what you're doing?"_

"_What am I doing?" The grin came back on his face. "I'm looking at my next great fighter!"_

_Shinji was instantly confused. He looked down at himself, then back at the small man._

"_Hikaru Suyo, nice to meet you, and you must be?"_

"_Extremely confused." Shinji replied._

"_Well, sir, I saw your ad, and I must say you seemed a little desperate for protection, no?" _

_Shinji stopped for a second, but quickly put his guard up. "How did you know what I looked like…?"_

"_You're the great Shinji Honkuro, no? The Sinnoh League champion!" _

'Oh yeah. That could prove helpful to finding me.' _Shinji thought to himself. "Yes…well…I don't know if fighting was part of my abilities…"_

"_My boy, you certainly have the physique for it, and we can most definitely hook you up with a trainer. Before you know it, you'll be slaughtering!"_

"_Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to have to—"_

"_You want protection, don't you?"_

_Time stood still for a few seconds._

_Hikari; that little, innocent girl back at the house, waiting for him to come back. He had forgotten about her in the past few minutes._

"_You…offer protection?" Shinji carefully asked._

"_The best in the world." The man freely said._

"_I don't believe you." Shinji retorted._

"_Go ahead, don't believe me. But whoever you're protecting will regret you did!" Shinji did not like the look in this man's eyes._

"…_Could you show me?" Shinji asked._

"_I thought you'd never ask." The man motioned forward. "Follow me…Shinji."_

* * *

"It was the only offer I got…I had to take it."

Shinji touched his hand to her cheek, and she covered his with hers. The story she was hearing was absolutely incredible, and almost unbelievable. The amazing part was that it wasn't even over yet.

"He took me back to his office…and that's when I met them…"

* * *

"_Shinji, meet Hakura and Kasumi."_

_A brunette and redhead stepped out with inviting smiles on their faces. They shook hands with Shinji, and while they seemed trustworthy, he still kept his guard up._

"_This is all of your protection? Just two measly girls?" Shinji asked Hikaru._

"_Measly?" Haruka retorted._

"_It won't just be them. These two are here simply to keep Hikari mentally stable. They've been specifically trained for this. They're professionals, my boy."_

_Shinji turned back to the two girls. "Professionals, eh?"_

"_The very best." Kasumi replied._

"_Hmph." Shinji grunted. "So is there anything else in terms of protection?"_

"_Ah, yes." Hikaru worked his way over to his desk, and gesticulated for Shinji to come over. "Every night, Hikari's house will be guarded by incognito men. In exchange…we ask for you to fight for us." _

"_As in combat?" Shinji confirmed._

_Hikaru simply nodded, seeing that Shinji was going to seal the deal then and there._

_Shinji did not like the stink of this man's offer. He had two pretty, nice girls to back him up, as well as a seemingly innocent deal, yet, he still felt that Hikari was in some sort of danger. His head was about to explode, all because he wanted to keep his Hikari safe. _

_Rising to his feet, he turned back to the girls, and glared._

"_If you ever let her get hurt, lost, or get in any type of dangerous predicament, I will make sure to have you terminated." He said._

"_Yeah, yeah, we got it." Haruka said. "We'll take good care of her."_

_Shinji turned back to a grinning Hikaru, and stuck out his hand._

"_Deal."_

* * *

_**MORE CLIFFY! :P**  
_

Oh, you all probably hate me so much right now.

Anyways, yay new chapter. I kinda wanted a bit more sentiment since the last was kinda violent, so...I hope it fit! And I hope you like it!

I'm seeing maybe one or two more chapters of this...then I'm totally focusing on **S is for Slaughter, **then I'll get back on track with **Light and Dark, **and maybe a couple oneshots here and there.

We'll just see how lazy I get. ;P

~Im-A-Horror-Freak


	9. Pension & Pacification

PokeContestIkari Story: I Don't Want A Fighter

**Chapter 9: Pension & Pacification**

Haruka and Kasumi were still staring at the front door, stuck in stupor regarding what had just occurred. Slowly, they turned to one another, their eyes wide with shock and fright. Neither of them spoke for a while, until Kasumi finally whispered with trembling lips:

"What have we done..."

Haruka swiftly retorted after hearing Kasumi speak those words. "We did our job!"

Kasumi made her way over to the couch, Haruka closely behind, still yelling. "We did what we were supposed to do!" They both sat down, angrily glaring at one another.

"What the hell do you mean we 'did what we were supposed to do'? If anything, we did the complete opposite, because Shinji is absolutely furious at something that we initially instigated!" Kasumi clenched her fists. "Haruka, our job was to keep her mentally stable, and to be able to see clearly, and make correct choices."

"And you're saying we did that?"

Kasumi paused. "…could you not see the pain and anguish in that girl's eyes every time we saw her? Could you not see what that man has been putting her through? How could a sensible person not try to get her away from him? Although our job was under Shinji's control, Shinji ended up being the cause of Hikari's depression. Our job was to keep her sane, and getting her away from Shinji was most certainly the first step!"

Haruka took in every word that Kasumi said, and could not deny any of them.

"We may have done the job specified for Shinji, but we didn't complete the job any person of good will would do, which is to stop any pain that is occurring to someone…especially if that someone is just a little girl." Kasumi added.

"A poor little girl…stuck in something that I can't even imagine being in at her age. The whole world hates her for something that was completely out of her control, and the only people she can rely on are her bully of a husband, and two failures of bodyguards…and friends. The girl can only take so much, y'know? Anyone can only take so much…" Haruka pondered.

"Her mom was killed right in front of her…"

"And the whole world, having loved her before, hates her…and now she currently resides with a dangerous human being who she claims to love…"

...

"I think she truly loves him." Kasumi stated.

"You think?" Haruka responded.

"I've never seen anyone so…dedicated, y'know? Someone who, no matter what is thrown at him/her, will stay strong, and have faith in that one person who just doesn't give anything back. Hikari may be a kid, but she sure is one helluva strong one."

"Kasumi..."

Kasumi looked over at her ditzy yet lovable partner in crime with concerned eyes. They had completed many cases similar to this under Hikaru's hand, however, there was something about this particular debacle that just hit them heavy in the heart. Their actions were slowed, hindered, altered; overall, different to how they usually worked. Throughout this entire year, somehow, that little blue-haired girl had made her way into their fragile hearts, and twisted them in so many ways, good and bad. Instead of being acting bodyguards, they longed to be genuine protectors of Hikari's life and precious soul, for she was somebody very special…and they knew that was the reason why Shinji was so desperate to find a way to shelter her from the cold, unforgiving world that they lived in.

"I think…Shinji really loves Hikari too…" Haruka finished. "And…by us letting her act out in such a way at the fight club, really broke his trust for us, and her as well…I really think we are to blame here."

Kasumi looked over at Haruka, who was staring at the ground, hands folded.

"Our idea of justice, at the time, was so impressionable upon her, plus how forceful we were with her…how could she not give in? It was exciting, dangerous…and she, in the end, wanted to know what Shinji was doing, so..."

"We knew all along though…and we knew how perilous it was…yet we put her in that situation, that danger…"

"We let our personal desires for her get in the way of what we were supposed to do…you can't forget the look on Shinji's face when he walked into the fight club with Hikaru that first day, can you?" Haruka questioned, tightening her eyes. "How could we have possibly doubted for a second that Shinji would give his life for Hikari? That he would do anything just to know she'll be safe for one second?"

"Haruka, did you not forget that performance that he just put on for us a few moments ago?" Kasumi responded.

"But Kasumi!" Haruka immediately replied. "That's just how he...shows it."

"Shows what?"

"...how much he loves her." she whispered, putting her clenched fist up to her mouth.

Kasumi appeared incredulous at first, but then nodded her head, feeling the tears come to her. "How sad..."

"…we suck." Haruka stated. "We really, _really_ suck."

Kasumi nodded again, not having the proper words to speak. Typically she'd be able to deter Haruka's usual dumb thoughts, however, everything she was saying was crystal clear, and frankly, embarrassing. Kasumi had taken a maternal role over Hikari, and actually hearing what she and Haruka had done to her for the past month or so was nothing a mother would even dream of doing to her child.

Haruka became more passionate with her words. "I mean that man…he risks his physical health _every night _just so he can be comforted with the thought that Hikari is in good hands..._our_ hands. He sacrificed that, and here we are, trying to get her to go against him, when in reality, he's the one all of us should be fighting for."

"He just makes it so difficult for the average eye to perceive…" Kasumi pointed out. "He may be dark and scary, but no doubt…he loves her."

"It just doesn't seem…possible. He's just so…"

"Odd?"

"Yes, and terrifying. And he has a horrible way of showing how he feels. And—"

"Haruka, I get it."

There was a short silence.

"They are just such an odd couple." Haruka finished. "Yet…they were made for one another. There is no one else on this earth that could tolerate Shinji, and no one else on this earth that can tolerate Hikari."

"It's actually kind of inspiring."

"…Look what this has done to us, Kasumi." Haruka said, smiling a little at her best friend. "It's made us all soft and fuzzy."

"I was always soft and fuzzy, it was you who wasn't." Kasumi chided.

"What! I was always the soft and fuzzy one. You're just so cruel and mean and insanely jealous!"

"Please."

"…We make a great team though."

They both went quiet for a couple seconds.

"Opposites…" Kasumi pondered, "yet outlandishly perfect for one another."

"That seems to be the theme of this whole event." Haruka said.

"It's an idea that the world needs to become more accepting of, is what it is. It's something that is probably one of the more beautiful aspects of human nature. Being associated with someone who is the complete opposite of you is probably what makes us more whole in the end…at least, that's what it feels like whenever we're together." Kasumi said.

"And I'm sure that's how it is with Shinji and Hikari."

"...Maybe if we had just taken a moment to understand how transcendental and above our heads the situation is…"

"…things could have ended a lot differently?" Haruka finished.

"Precisely."

There was another short silence.

"Perhaps not all love stories are the cookie cutter type." Kasumi said.

"I'd prefer for them to not be so."

Kasumi smiled a little. "Me neither."

A longer silence followed the two young women's words of revelation. When Shinji had come to Hikaru, they could see the fear in his eyes, and even beneath the tough exterior they could see how much he cared for Hikari. Hikaru was a well-known master of manipulation, and like the snake he is, he easily made his way through Shinji's mind, and gotten him involved in his web of violence and debauchery. However, both Haruka and Kasumi felt that Shinji was aware of the many possible circumstances that could be put upon him, but obviously he did not care.

As long as his Hikari was safe wherever she went, he did not care about anything he endured.

"If only everybody could have realized this about Shinji before that terrible shooting took place. If only they had listened to the words that he was saying to them at the Grande Festival." Haruka wondered aloud.

"If only they saw that he, in the end, is only trying to protect Hikari." Kasumi responded.

"…I guess he is more of a husband than we initially thought."

"Every bit of this situation is a lot more than we initially thought, Haruka."

"Yeah…"

"…Perhaps we should go over there and apologize?"

Haruka looked over at Kasumi dubiously. "Do you really think that'd be a good idea? I can't imagine what has happened over there…and us being there would definitely exacerbate any initial anger."

"Haruka…we at least should have some self-respect, and respect towards them, and show them how sorry we are."

"…if you say so."

The two slowly rose from the couch, overwhelmed by their recent thoughts and discussion, the topics being beyond even their own comprehension. The atmosphere around them seemed different; dull, sluggish, and cold. Their movements were lethargic, and the small walk over to the Honkuros' house seemed longer than usual. When they reached the front door, they both hesitated. Kasumi looked over and saw the fear in Haruka's eyes; fear of Shinji, Hikari, and for the both of them as well. Gently, Kasumi took her friend's hand in hers, and flashed her a reassuring smile. Haruka gave one right back to her, and knocked on the door three times.

They waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

"Oh dear God…" Haruka whispered. "Please don't tell me something bad happened…"

Kasumi knocked three more times, and they waited longer.

And longer.

And longer.

And longer.

"Hikari?...Shinji?" Haruka carefully called out, pinching her eyes closed, expecting to hear screaming and yelling, or objects breaking, or punches being thrown…

...But again, silence.

"I don't think anybody is home…" Kasumi concluded.

"Should we call somebody?" Haruka asked.

Kasumi paused. "…do you remember what Shinji said to us that day we first met him?"

Haruka stopped for a second, putting her finger to her chin. When she remembered, her eyes widened, and her mouth went slightly ajar.

Then her face dropped with melancholy.

"Yeah…I do…"

* * *

_Wanting to be cordial, Haruka and Kasumi took Shinji to a little coffee shop to discuss further matters of their "plan". Haruka and Kasumi ordered two lattes for themselves, but Shinji did not order anything. All he did was sit silently in his chair that sat opposite of Haruka and Kasumi, staring blankly at the door. _

"_So…" Haruka began._

_Shinji crossed his muscular arms over his chest, huffing a large sigh. He did not look thrilled to be there; he never looked thrilled to be anywhere._

"_Don't worry sir; Haruka and I are professionals. We'll take good care of Hikari." Kasumi said to Shinji with a warm smile._

_Shinji grunted in response, looking at the ground._

"_Is there anything we should know about her, just so we can make her feel more comfortable?" Haruka asked curiously, both of them taking out notepads and pens. _

_Shinji said nothing for a while, making Kasumi and Haruka frown._

"_Come on, there has to be something. We're just trying to help." Kasumi said._

"_I know, I know." Shinji said with irritation, looking up at the ceiling._

_Kasumi and Haruka leaned in with curiosity, pens ready at hand._

"…_She loves chocolate biscotti...so if you ever want her to shut up, just give her that, and you'll be set." He looked down at the ground._

"_Oh that's great!" Kasumi chirped. "I love chocolate biscotti too!"_

"_Fantastic." Shinji replied obviously not as excited as the redhead._

"_Anything else?"_

_Shinji paused again, and looked out the window to the sun; it reminded him of her. "She loves the stars...so it wouldn't hurt to take her out at night every now and then to just...y'know, look at them. I don't really know why she loves them so much, but I don't really care. As long as she gets to see them." _

"_Stargazing…" Haruka mumbled, writing down that exact word. _

"_She loves to read, so make sure you take her to the book store; I'll give you my credit card so you can get her any book she wants…and…just give her good company." _

"_Shinji, you can definitely count on us! She sounds like a really nice girl. It'll be a pleasure to be by her side for you." Haruka smiled at Shinji, hoping to instill her trust in him._

_The two women were about to stand up, but they quickly sat back down when they heard Shinji speak up again._

_"…__Hikari has always been really easy-going. She doesn't like to be pampered, but at the same time, she hates feeling ignored; not because she's an attention whore, but more because she feels as if she's done something wrong."_

___"We'll make sure to take good care of her." Haruka and Kasumi spoke in unison. Again, they started to get up, but he started speaking again, this time in a more gentle tone._

"_For as long as I've known her, Hikari has always been a people-pleaser; all she wants to do is make everybody happy." Shinji smiled a little, closing his eyes. "It wasn't hard for her...all she had to do was smile, and everybody in the room would smile back, or just stare in awe of her beauty." He opened his eyes, and they had hardened, and glazed over with memories. "But now…now…"_

_Kasumi and Haruka continued to stare at Shinji, their notepads now resting next to their untouched lattes. _

"…_I've taken all of that away from her. Now everywhere she goes, nobody will be pleased…nobody. I haven't seen that smile, or that look in her eye, for so long, and it's just not right. It's not right, damn it." _

_He looked at the two young women, a humble, broken man. "All I ask of you two is to make her smile again, even if it's just for a second. She has lived her whole life trying to satisfy everyone around her, and now she deserves all of the gratification she has been missing for all of these years. I've taken away any possibility of that happening by my own terms, and I don't think I'll ever be able to give it to her myself. It's just not in my being…but believe me, I've tried."_

_Haruka and Kasumi nodded once in unison. _

"…_that's all I ask." He repeated._

_Then, after a moment of silence, he rose to his feet, and slowly exited the coffee shop, everyone's starstruck gazes on him as he did so._

* * *

"…She's in good hands." Haruka quietly said.

_"Finally, she's in good hands."_ Kasumi responded.

They turned away from the empty house, and walked back to their respective homes in silence, without bidding one another adieu.

All they could do was think for the next 24 hours.

* * *

**So you're all probably either really happy, really sad, really confused, or all of the above.**

**This story is pretty complicated, as well as the feelings I've been trying to emanate, and I wanted to put some ideas out there for you all to think about, regarding Hikari and Shinji's relationship, why Hikari is still with him, and why Shinji acts the way he does. I hope that this does some clearing up for y'all. **

**So I finally updated, yay! It's been like a year. Sorry. Being a senior and preparing for college is pretty uh…time-consuming. But I've gotten into 5 out of 9 colleges so far, and I'm waiting for four more! :D But enough about me.**

**I'm thinking maybe one more chapter on this story, just to wrap things up. Again, I hope that this has helped in the understanding of the story. And I'm sorry that it's shorter than others…don't want to put too many of my analytic thoughts in this. Haha.**

**And I changed my username!**

**Bye my loves ~**

**~AsanganiKalani**


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